1! 


THE  LIFE 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON, 

(OF  OHIO,) 
THE   PEOPLE'S   CANDIDATE 

FOR 

THE    PRESIDENCY. 

WITH   A 
HISTORY  OF  THE  WARS  WITH 

THE    BRITISH    AND    INDIANS 

ON   OUR   NORTH-WESTERN   FRONTIER. 


SECOND  EDITION. 


PHILADELPHIA :' 
W.    MARSHALL  &   CO 

1840. 


;M 


Entered,  according   to    Act    of  Congress,  in  the  year  1840, 

BY    I.    R.    JACKSON, 

in  the  clerk's  office  of  the  district  court  of  the  eastern  district 
of  Pennsylvania. 


STEREOTYPED   BY    J.  FAOAN PHILADELPHIA. 


PRINTED   BY    C.  SHERMAN    AND    CO. 
(4) 


PREFACE. 


THE  principal  aim  and  object  of  the 
following  biography,  is  to  place  before 
its  readers  a  fair  and  impartial  narra 
tive  of  the  life  of  one  of  our  most  emi 
nent  fellow-citizens,  the  history  of 
whose  public  services,  both  civil  and 
military,  is,  for  many  years,  closely  and 
inseparably  interwoven  with  that  of  our 
country.  The  many  responsible  offices 
held  by  General  Harrison,  the  numerous 
important  treaties  made  by  him  with 
the  Indians,  and  the  prominent  part  he 
took  in  all  the  wars  and  negotiations  on 
our  North-western  frontier,  during  one 

(5) 

M131082 


Vi  PREFACE. 

of  the  most  exciting  and  eventful  pe 
riods  of  our  national  existence,  render 
his  life  one  of  general  and  absorbing  in 
terest.  Indeed  we  look  upon  the  politi 
cal  and  moral  history  of  such  a  man  as 
belonging  to  his  country,  and  as  consti 
tuting  one  of  those  bright  beacon-lights 
destined  to  shine  as  long  as  the  annals 
of  our  nation  endure.  To  the  character 
of  such  a  man,  justice  is  rarely  done 
during  his  life-time.  The  carpings  of 
envy  or  jealousy,  and  the  misrepresent 
ations  of  political  opponents  taint  the 
public  mind  to  a  certain  degree,  and 
cast  a  shadow  over  the  most  brilliant 
actions  and  the  purest  and  most  virtu 
ous  motives.  But  long  after  the  stormy 
waves  that  now  agitate  the  great  ocean 
of  political  strife  shall  have  subsided, 
when  all  personal  opposition  shall  have 


PREFACE.  vil 

shared  the  fate  of  its  originators  and 
have  sunk  into  a  merited  oblivion,  the 
page  of  history  will  still  record,  with 
perennial  fame,  the  good  deeds  and  no 
ble  actions  of  the  patriot,  the  hero  and 
the  statesman ;  and  grateful  generations 
shall  point  to  his  example  as  a  bright 
and  unclouded  load-star  to  guide  them 
in  the  true  course  to  honest  and  ho 
nourable  distinction. 

The  author  of  this  little  work  has 
made  no  attempt  at  an  eulogium.  From 
a  long  personal  acquaintance  with 
General  Harrison,  and  a  knowledge  as 
well  as  admiration  of  his  character, 
he  has  certainly  felt  at  liberty  to  ex 
press  himself  on  some  points  relating 
to  his  private  life,  more  fully  than  he 
would  otherwise  have  ventured.  Still 
his  sole  endeavour  has  been  to  dis- 
1* 


viii  PREFACE. 

charge  his  duty  faithfully  to  his  fellow- 
citizens,  and  render  them  at  the  present 
time  an  acceptable  service  by  offering 
within  as  brief  a  space  as  possible,  a 
clear,  candid,. and  comprehensive  narra 
tive  of  the  life  of  General  Harrison,  and 
of  the  wars  and  negotiations  on  our 
North-western  frontier,  in  which  he  took 
so  active  a  part,  from  the  date  of  St. 
Clair's  defeat  to  the  close  of  our  last 
contest  with  Great  Britain  —  a  period 
embracing  a  portion  of  our  general  his 
tory,  full  of  exciting  and  thrilling  inte 
rest,  and  yet  but  little  known  to  the 
great  mass  of  the  people. 

Many  of  the  materials  for  this  biogra 
phy  have  been  derived  from  "  Dawson's 
Narrative  of  the  Civil  and  Military  Ser 
vices  of  General  Harrison,"  a  large  oc 
tavo  published  in  Cincinnati,  in  1824, 


PREFACE.  ix 

but  long  since  out  of  print ;  from  "  But 
ler's  History  of  Kentucky ;"  and  from 
"  M'Afee's  History  of  the  Late  War  in 
the  Western  Country."  "Hall's  Me 
moir  of  the  Public  Services  of  William 
Henry  Harrison"  has  likewise  occasion 
ally  been  consulted.  And  to  ensure  the 
necessary  accuracy  on  many  leading 
points  of  history,  a  due  reference  has 
also  been  made  to  our  public  documents 
and  state  papers  connected  with  the 
events  here  recorded. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Harrison's  birth  and  parentage.  —  Sketch  of  his 
father's  public  life  and  services.  —  Harrison's 
education.  ^—  His  determination  to  enter  the 
army. — Situation  of  our  North-western  frontier 
at  that  time.  —  British  intrigues.  —  Defeat  of 
General  Harmar  --------  Page  15 

CHAPTER  II. 

Harrison  enters  the  United  States'  army  with  the 
commission  of  an  ensign. — Defeat  of  St.  Clair. — 
Appointment  of  General  Wayne.  —  Organiza 
tion  of  the  United  States  legion. — Harrison  is 
promoted  to  a  lieutenancy. — Is  appointed  aid 
to  the  commander-in-chief.  —  Wayne's  cam 
paigns. —  Battle  of  the  Maumee  Rapids,  and 
final  defeat  of  the  Indians. — Harrison's  appoint 
ment  to  the  command  of  Fort  Washington. — His 
marriage  -  -  -  ----------  22 

CHAPTER  III. 

Harrison  resigns  his  commission  in  the  army. — Is 
appointed  Secretary  and  Lieutenant  Governor 
of  the  North-western  Territory. — Is  elected  De 
legate  to  Congress. — Introduces  a  bill  to  regu- 


Xli  CONTENTS. 

late  the  disposal  of  the  public  lands. — Its  justice 
and  true  policy.  —  Its  success.  —  The  North 
western  Territory  divided.  —  Harrison  resigns 
his  seat  in  Congress. — Is  appointed  Governor  of 
Indiana  Territory 42 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Condition  of  Indiana  Territory. — Harrison  is  ap 
pointed  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  and 
Commissioner  for  treating  with  the  Indians. — 
His  extensive  jurisdiction  and  powers. — Harri 
son's  address  to  .the  territorial  legislature. — The 
cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States  -  -  48 

CHAPTER  V. 

Intrigues  of  Tec  urn  the  and  the  Prophet. — The 
Prophet's  visit  to  Vincennes  and  interview  with 
Harrison. — Treaty  of  Fort  Wayne. — Dissatisfac 
tion  of  Tecumthe. — Tecumthe's  interview  with 
the  Governor. — The  Governor's  firmness  and 
intrepidity. — Harrison's  Message  to  the  Legisla 
ture. — Triumphant  refutation  of  slander  -  -  -  62 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Commencement  of  hostilities. — Harrison  assembles 
the  Militia  and  Volunteers. — He  organizes  his 
forces. — March  to  the  Prophet's  town. — Battle 
of  Tippecanoe. — Its  results 81 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Declaration  of  War  with  Great  Britain. — Mea 
sures  adopted  to  defend  our  North-western  fron 
tier. —  Governor  Harrison  is  appointed  Major 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

General  in  the  Kentucky  militia. — He  receives 
the  commission  of  Brigadier  General  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States. — He  is  made  Com 
mander-in-chief  of  the  North-western  army. — 
His  extensive  powers  and  arduous  duties. — 
Plan  of  the  Campaign. — Massacre  at  the  River 
Raisin. — Expedition  against  the  Indian  towns  -  104 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Opening  of  the  second  Campaign. — Siege  at  Fort 
Meigs. — Its  gallant  Defence. — Brilliant  sortie. — 
Defeat  of  Colonel  Dudley.— The  Siege  aban 
doned. — Second  Siege  of  Fort  Meigs. — Attack 
on  Fort  Stephenson 133 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Harrison  advises  the  construction  of  a  fleet  on 
Lake  Erie. — Perry's  Victory. — Embarkation  of 
the  army. — Invasion  of  Canada. — Pursuit  of  the 
enemy. — Battle  of  the  Thames  and  capture  of 
the  British  army. — Close  of  the  campaign. — 
Resignation  of  General  Harrison  -----  149 

CHAPTER  X. 

Appointment  of  General  Harrison  as  Commissioner 
to  treat  with  the  Indians. — His  election  to  Con 
gress. — Is  chosen  a  Senator  of  the  State  Legis 
lature. — His  election  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States. — Is  appointed  Minister  to  Colombia. — 
His  Letter  to  Bolivar. — His  recall. — His  personal 
appearance  and  private  Character. — His  Letter 
to  Harmar  Denny 170 


LIFE 

OF 

WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Harrison's  birth  and  parentage. — Sketch  of  his  father's 
public  life  and  services. — Harrison's  education. — His 
determination  to  enter  the  army. — Situation  of  our 
North-western  frontier  at  that  time. — British  in 
trigues. — Defeat  of  General  Harmer. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON  was  born  in 
Virginia,  on  the  ninth  day  of  February,  1773, 
at  Berkeley,  an  estate  on  the  James  River,  in 
the  county  of  Charles  City.  The  family  from 
which  he  is  descended  settled  in  Virginia  in 
the  year  1 640.  At  an  extremely  early  period 
in  the  history  of  that  province,  the  name  of 
Harrison  appears  among  the  most  prominent 
mentioned  in  their  public  annals,  and  the 
honourable  station  which  it  then  held  has  de 
scended  unsullied  to  our  own  times. 

(«> 


16  LIFE  OF 

Benjamin  Harrison,  Lhe  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  memoir,  was  one  of  the  foremost  and 
most  conspicuous  patriots  of  our  country. 
Before  he  had  attained  his  twenty-first  year, 
he  was  elected  to  the  provincial  legislature, 
and  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
where  he  continued  to  represent  his  native 
district,  with  much  honour,  for  many  years. 
He,  on  every  occasion,  manifested  a  sincere 
devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  province,  and 
was  one  of  that  patriotic  band  of  members 
who  united,  heart  and  hand,  in  opposing  the  op 
pressive  measures  of  the  mother  country.  On 
the  fourteenth  of  November,  1764,  he  was  ap 
pointed  with  several  other  distinguished  mem 
bers  of  the  house,  to  prepare  an  address  to  the 
king,  a  memorial  to  the  lords,  and  a  remon 
strance  to  the  house  of  commons,  in  opposi 
tion  to  the  odious  Stamp  Act — a  bill  in  favour 
of  which  had  already  been  proposed  to  parlia 
ment  by  George  Grenville,  the  British  minister 
of  finance.  These  papers  were  accordingly 
prepared  by  this  committee,  and  Mr.  Harrison 
thus  evinced,  several  years  before  the  date  of 
our  revolution,  his  determination  to  side  with 
the  people  in  their  struggle  to  defend  their  sa- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  17 

cred  rights,  and  in  their  resistance  to  the  rapa 
cious  tyranny  of  the  crown. 

In  August,  1774,  Mr.  Harrison  was  ap 
pointed  one  of  the  delegates  from  Virginia  to 
the  first  Continental  Congress,  which  assem 
bled  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  first  of  the  ensuing 
September :  and  on  that  day,  he  had  the  grati 
fication  of  seeing  his  colleague  and  brother-in- 
law,  Peyton  Randolph,  placed  in  the  presiden 
tial  chair  by  the  unanimous  choice  of  the 
assembled  delegates. 

At  the  Congress  of  the  following  year,  1775, 
after  the  death  of  Mr.  Randolph,  it  was  the 
wish  of  nearly  all  the  southern  members,  that 
Mr.  Harrison  should  succeed  him  in  the  presi 
dency  ;  but  as  the  patriotic  John  Hancock  of 
Massachusetts  had  likewise  been  nominated, 
Mr.  Harrison,  to  avoid  any  sectional  jealousy 
or  unkindness  of  feeling  between  the  northern 
and  southern  delegates,  at  so  momentous  a 
crisis,  with  a  noble  self-denial  and  generosity 
relinquished  his  own  claims,  and  insisted  on 
the  election  of  Mr.  Hancock,  who  accordingly 
had  the  honour  of  being  unanimously  chosen 
to  that  high  office.  Mr.  Harrison  still,  how 
ever,  continued  one  of  the  most  active  and 
influential  members  of  the  Continental  Con- 


18  LIFE  OF 

gress.  On  the  tenth  of  June,  1776,  as  chair 
man  of  the  committee  of  the  whole  house,  he 
introduced  the  resolution  which  declared  the 
independence  of  the  colonies,  and  on  the  fol 
lowing  ever-memorable  fourth  of  July,  he 
reported  the  more  formal  Declaration  of  In 
dependence,  to  which  celebrated  document 
his  signature  is  annexed. 

The  Legislature  of  Virginia  returned  Mr. 
Harrison  four  times  as  a  delegate  to  Congress. 
On  the  expiration  of  his  last  term  of  congres 
sional  service,  he  was  immediately  elected  to 
the  House  of  Burgesses  from  his  own  county, 
and  was  at  once  chosen  speaker  of  that  body  ; 
an  office  which  he  held  uninterruptedly  until 
the  year  1782,  when  he  was  elected  governor 
of  Virginia,  and  became  one  of  the  most 
popular  officers  that  ever  filled  the  executive 
chair.  This  eminent  patriot  died  in  the  year 
1791. 

William  Henry  Harrison  was  left  by  his 
father  under  the  guardianship  of  his  friend, 
Robert  Morris,  the  distinguished  financier  of 
our  revolution.  He  was  educated  at  Hamp- 
den  Sydney  College ;  and,  by  the  advice  of 
his  friends,  turned  his  attention  to  the  study 
of  medicine.  But  about  the  period  when  he 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  19 

had  completed  his  education,  soon  after  the 
death  of  his  father,  the  increased  and  barba 
rous  hostilities  of  the  Indians  on  our  north 
western  borders,  began  to  excite  a  feeling  of 
indignation  throughout  the  whole  country.  In 
this  general  excitement  our  young  student  par 
ticipated  so  warmly,  that  he  resolved  to  relin 
quish  his  professional  pursuits,  and  join  the 
army  destined  to  the  defence  of  the  Ohio 
frontier.  The  service  was  then  neither  popu 
lar  nor  inviting,  but  on  the  contrary  was  ex 
ceedingly  toilsome  and  fraught  with  great 
danger  and  hardships ;  and  nothing  but  high 
courage  and  elevated  motives,  could  have 
induced  him  to  form  such  a  resolve  at  so 
gloomy  a  period.  This  determination  was 
warmly  opposed,  too,  by  many  of  his  friends 
as  well  as  by  his  prudent  guardian.  But  his 
generous  design  was  cordially  approved  and 
encouraged  by  one  whom  he  thought  entitled 
to  even  more  influence — by  General  Wash 
ington,  who  had  been  his  father's  intimate 
friend,  and  who  was,  at  that  time,  president 
of  the  United  States. 

The  war  in  our  western  country  was  then 
assuming  a  very  alarming  aspect.     But  few 
of  the  warlike  Indians  on  the  frontier  had  at 
2* 


20  LIFE  OF 

that  time  declared  in  our  favour,  while  the 
powerful  tribes  of  the  Miamies,  the  Hurons,  or 
Wyandots,  the  Delawares,  the  Shawnees,  the 
Kickapoos,  the  Pbtowatomies,  the  Ottawas,  and 
the  Winnebagocs,  who  occupied  all  the  borders 
of  our  northern  lakes,  and  were  scattered 
through  the  whole  immense  extent  of  our  north 
western  territory,  were  engaged  in  active 
hostility  against  the  United  States. 

Most  of  these  Indian  tribes  had  been  in  the 
service  of  Great  Britain  during  our  revolution 
ary  struggle ;  and  they  were  no  doubt  urged 
to  the  course  they  now  pursued,  in  some  mea 
sure,  by  their  own  savage  love  for  war,  but 
still  more  by  the  instigations  of  the  British 
authorities  in  Canada,  who,  contrary  to  the 
provisions  of  tfte  treaty  of  peace,  still  held  for 
cible  possession  of  Detroit,  Mackinac,  Niagara, 
and  other  forts  in  our  acknowledged  territory, 
arid  continued  to  tamper  with  the  Indians 
within  our  limits,  and  to  supply  them  freely 
with  arms  and  ammunition  to  carry  on  the 
war  against  our  country.  Thus  incited,  they 
still  persisted  in  their  barbarous  hostilities,  and 
accounts  were  almost  daily  received  of  their 
having  perpetrated  some  ruthless  aggression  or 
outrage  of  unexampled  ferocity.  From  the 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  21 

year  1783,  when  Great  Britain  acknowledged 
our  independence,  and  war  with  the  mother 
country  ceased,  up  to  the  year  1791,  it  was 
estimated  that  more  than  fifteen  hundred  of 
our  hardy  borderers  had  fallen  victims  to  the 
rifle  and  scalping-knife  of  their  savage  foes. 
Our  north-western  frontier  presented  an  appal 
ling  scene  of  rapine,  conflagration,  and  wanton 
destruction  of  life  and  property.  Many  of  our 
border  settlements  had  been  crushed  in  their 
infancy,  and  all  had  been  retarded  in  their 
growth.  Expedition  after  expedition,  fitted 
out  to  oppose  them,  had  met  with  the  most 
disheartening  losses;  and  finally  a  gallant 
army  under  Brigadier  General  Harmer,  which 
•had  been  sent  expressly  to  chastise  these  sa 
vages,  after  destroying  some  of  their  towns, 
had  been  signally  defeated  by  them,  and  al 
most  annihilated.  Of  the  few  experienced 
officers  who  escaped  from  Harmer's  defeat, 
nearly  all,  worn  out  with  the  fatigues  of  a 
service  so  harassing,  and  shrinking  from  a 
warfare  of  so  dangerous  and  barbarous  a  na 
ture,  had  resigned  their  commissions ;  and  a 
general  feeling  of  dismay  began  to  pervade 
the  whole  of  our  exposed  frontier. 
Such  was  the  gloomy  aspect  of  affairs,  when 


22  LIFE  OF 

the  ardent  and  generous  patriotism  of  young 
Harrison  prompted  him  to  give  up  the  com 
forts  and  luxuries-  that  surrounded  him  at 
home,  and  enter  his  country's  service  in  de 
fence  of  his  fellow-citizens. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Harrison  enters  the  United  States'  army  with  the  com 
mission  of  an  ensign. — Defeat  of  St.  Clair. — Appoint 
ment  of  General  Wayne.  —  Organization  of  the 
United  States  legion.  —  Harrison  is  promoted  to  a 
lieutenancy. — Is  appointed  aid  to  the  commander-in- 
chief. — Wayne's  campaigns. — Battle  of  the  Maumee 
Rapids,  and  final  defeat  of  the  Indians. — Harrison's- 
appointment  to  the  command  of  Fort  Washington. — 
His  marriage. 

IN  the  autumn  of  the  year  1791,  Harrison 
received  the  commission  of  an  ensign  in  the 
United  States  artillery,  from  the  hands  of  the 
president,  General  Washington,  whose  warm 
approval  had  greatly  cheered  him  in  his  de 
sign.  He  hastened  immediately  to  join  his 
regiment,  which  was  then  stationed  at  Fort 
Washington,  which  occupied  the  present  site 
of  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  where  he  arrived  a 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  23 

few  days  after  the  unfortunate  defeat  of 
General  St.  Clair,  near  the  Miami  villages, 
by  the  confederated  Indians,  under  the  com 
mand  of  Meshecunnaqua,  the  Little  Turtle,  a 
celebrated  Miami  warrior,  and  Buckongelas, 
head  chief  of  the  Delawares.  This  disastrous 
defeat,  in  which  St.  Glair's  army  was  de 
stroyed,  with  the  loss  of  nearly  a  thousand 
men,  killed  or  taken  prisoners,  left  the  whole 
of  our  north-western  frontier  exposed  to  the 
ravages  of  a  merciless  enemy,  and  added 
greatly  to  the  general  consternation  before 
existing. 

The  whole  defence  of  our  extensive  frontier 
now  devolved  on  the  broken  fragments  of  an 
army  panic-struck  and  dispirited  by  their  re 
cent  defeat,  while  the  Indians,  flushed  with 
victory,  had  grown  still  more  daring  and  au 
dacious  than  ever.  Winter  was  approaching, 
and  the  privations  to  be  anticipated  by  those 
who  were  stationed  at  our  remote  posts  were 
so  great,  that  Harrison,  young,  slender,  and 
apparently  of  a  delicate  constitution,  was  ad 
vised  by  his  friends  to  resign  his  commission, 
and  avoid  hardships  wrhich  he  seemed  but  little 
fitted  to  encounter.  But  he  rejected  this  ad 
vice  without  hesitation,  and  by  an  almost 


24  LIFE  OF 

reckless  exposure  of  his  person  to  danger  and 
fatigue,  soon  proved  himself  well  qualified  for 
the  arduous  service  he  had  chosen. 

Not  long  after  his  arrival  at  Fort  Washing 
ton,  his  courage  and  good  conduct  were  put 
to  the  test,  by  his  being  appointed  to  the  com 
mand  of  an  escort  having  in  charge  a  supply 
of  provisions  and  munitions  of  war,  destined 
for  Fort  Hamilton.  The  perilous  duty  of 
conducting  this  escort  through  a  wilderness 
infested  by  hostile  Indians,  required  an  un 
common  degree  of  personal  exposure,  as  well 
as  constant  watchfulness,  and  a  greater  share 
of  prudence  and  military  sagacity  than  is 
usually  found  in  so  young  an  officer.  But  he 
acquitted  himself  of  this  duty  with  so  much 
skill  and  success  as  to  elicit  the  warm  appro 
bation  and  encomium  of  his  commander, 
General  St.  Clair. 

At  this  time,  the  degrading  vice  of  intem 
perance  was  unhappily  but  too  common  among 
the  officers  of  our  army.  Removed  from  the 
wholesome  restraints  of  civilized  society,  and 
deprived  of  the  comforts  of  domestic  life,  the 
extreme  hardships  they  were  often  compelled 
to  endure,  predisposed  the  young  officers,  in 
their  moments  of  relaxation,  to  indulge  in  de- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  25 

basing  excesses,  to  the  great  injury  of  their 
reputation  and  the  frequent  destruction  of  their 
health.  But  Harrison  had  the  good  sense  to 
see  the  danger  to  which  he  was  exposed,  and 
the  firmness  of  character  to  resist  the  entice 
ments  of  dissipation.  And  in  the  midst  of 
these  temptations,  he  laid  the  foundation  of 
those  habits  of  temperance,  which  subsequently 
enabled  him  to  support  so  well  the  severe  fa 
tigues  and  hardships  of  a  border  warfare,  and 
which  have  adhered  to  him  through  life,  giving 
him,  even  to  the  present  day,  a  remarkable 
degree  of  health  and  vigour. 

In  the  unfortunate  state  of  things  existing 
after  St.  Glair's  defeat,  our  government  saw 
the  necessity  of  adopting  immediate  and  effi 
cient  means  to  put  an  end  to  this  savage  con 
flict.  Another  army  was  promptly  raised,  and 
the  command  given  to  General  Anthony 
Wayne  of  Pennsylvania,  a  gallant  and  skilful 
officer,  who  had  earned  a  brilliant  reputation 
in  the  revolutionary  war.  The  United  States 
Legion,  as  Wayne's  army  was  called  in  the 
new  organization,  assembled  at  Pittsburgh,  in 
the  summer  of  1792 ;  and  in  the  ensuing  month 
of  November,  they  left  that  place,  and  went 
into  winter  quarters,  at  an  eligible  position  on 


26  LIFE  OF 

the  Ohio,  22  miles   below  Pittsburgh.     This 
place  they  called  Legwnville. 

Our  illustrious  President,  Washington,  guid 
ed  by  his  customary  humanity,  had  instructed 
General  Wayne  to  endeavour,  if  possible,  to 
conciliate  the  Indians,  and  prevent  the  further 
effusion  of  blood.  In  pursuance  of  these  in 
structions,  General  Wayne  invited  several  dis 
tinguished  chiefs  of  some  of  the  principal  tribes 
to  visit  him  at  Legionville.  Accordingly,  in 
March,  1793,  Cornplanter,  a  noted  e  warrior, 
Guasthua,  an  aged  chief,  Neiv  Arrow,  Big 
Tree,  and  several  others,  made  their  appear 
ance  at  the  encampment.  But  after  a  council 
with  these  chiefs,  it  soon  became  evident  that 
no  honourable  terms  of  peace  could  be  esta 
blished  with  the  Indians.  Excited  by  their 
recent  victories,  and  stimulated  by  the  intrigues 
of  the  British,  they  had  become  exceedingly 
unreasonable  in  their  demands.  They  now 
insisted  that  the  American  government  should 
relinquish  all  claim  to  the  immense  extent  of 
territory  north-west  of  the  Ohio  river,  notwith 
standing  it  had  been  obtained  by  open  and  re 
peated  treaties  and  by  fair  purchase,  and  had 
already  been  partially  disposed  of  to  actual 
settlers,  whose  rights,  emanating  from  our 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  27 

government,  we  were,  in  common  justice, 
bound  to  protect.  They  further  declared  that 
nothing  would  now  satisfy  them  but  the  estab 
lishment  of  the  Ohio  river  as  a  permanent 
boundary,  beyond  which  our  settlements  should 
never  be  permitted  to  extend. 

Terms  so  haughtily  demanded,  and  so  stern 
ly  opposed  to  our  national  honour  and  good 
faith,  as  well  as  to  our  interest,  were,  of  course, 
wholly  inadmissible ;  and  General  Wayne  was 
now  compelled  to  prepare  for  the  only  alter 
native  offered  him,  a  savage  and  desolating 
war.  This  was,  therefore,  on  our  part,  strictly 
a  war  of  self-defence — since  we  had  no  other 
honourable  means  of  defending  our  border 
settlements  from  the  fierce  aggressions  of  the 
Indians,  or  of  uprooting  the  influence  of  the 
British  authorities,  who,  in  defiance  of  the  de 
claration  of  peace,  were  still  warring  against 
us  through  their  former  savage  auxiliaries. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  1793,  General  Wayne 
broke  up  his  winter  quarters  at  Legionville, 
and  conveyed  his  army  in  boats  down  the 
Ohio  to  Fort  Washington.  At  this  place  Har 
rison,  having  been  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy,, 
joined  the  Legion.  His  fearlessness  and  en 
ergy,  with  his  strict  attention  to  discipline,  soon 
3 


28  LIFE  OF 

attracted  the  notice  of  his  commander-in-chief, 
himself  a  bold  and  daring  soldier  and  a  rigid 
disciplinarian ;  and  General  Wayne,  not  long 
after  his  arrival,  selected  him  as  one  of  his 
aids-de-camp. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  at  how  early  a  period, 
and  in  what  trying  times,  young  Harrison  was 
thought  worthy  of  honourable  distinction ;  and 
how  soon,  too,  he  attracted  the  attention  and 
especial  notice  of  a  man  and  a  soldier  like 
Wayne,  whose  well-known  independence  of 
character  was  such,  that  no  influence  save  that 
of  intrinsic  merit  was  ever  with  him  of  any 
avail,  and  whose  daring  and  almost  reckless 
intrepidity  had  won  him,  in  our  revolutionary 
war,  the  singular  appellation  of  "  Mad  An 
thony." 

The  ensuing  summer  was  occupied  by  Gen 
eral  Wayne  in  disciplining  his  troops,  and  in 
obtaining  reinforcements  and  supplies,  prepar 
atory  to  the  next  campaign.  Having  at  length 
received  instructions  from  the  Secretary  of 
War  to  commence  active  operations,  early  in 
October  he  left  Fort  Washington,  and  ad 
vanced  with  his  army  eighty  miles  along  the 
south-western  bank  of  the  Miami.  But  as  the 
season  was  now  too  far  advanced  to  permit 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  29 

him  to  carry  the  plans  he  had  formed  into  exe 
cution,  he  strongly  fortified  a  position  which 
was  called  Greenville,  where  his  army  went 
into  quarters  for  the  winter. 

But  the  winter  was  not  suffered  to  pass  in 
idleness.  On  the  23d  of  December,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  sent  a  detachment  of  eight 
companies  of  infantry  and  a  battalion  of  artil 
lery,  to  take  possession  of  the  ground  on  which 
St.  Glair's  army  had  been  defeated.  A  strong 
post,  called  Fort  Recovery,  was  built  on  this 
mournful  battle-field,  and  the  bones  of  our  gal 
lant  soldiers,  who  wrere  there  slain,  were  care 
fully  collected  and  interred  with  military  hon 
ours.  The  artillery  used  on  this  interesting 
occasion,  to  pay  the  last  tribute  of  respect  over 
the  graves  of  those  who  fell  on  the  bloody  4th 
of -November,  1791,  were  the  same  that  were 
lost  on  that  fatal  day,  but  which  were  now 
recovered  by  this  detachment. 

In  the  general  order  issued  by  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  on  the  return  of  these  troops, 
he  particularly  notices  Lieutenant  Harrison, 
who  accompanied  the  expedition — and  tenders 
him  "  his  best  thanks  for  his  voluntary  aid  and 
services  on  this  occasion."  We  thus  find  Har 
rison,  though  at  an  early  age,  and  young  in 


30  LIFE  OF 

the  service,  foremost  in  volunteering  his  aid 
on  every  occasion  where  danger  was  to  be 
encountered  or  duty  performed. 

On  the  30th  of  June,  1794,  Fort  Recovery 
was  fiercely  assailed  by  a  large  body  of  In 
dians,  aided  by  British  and  Canadian  auxili 
aries.  But  though  their  assaults  were  unusu 
ally  bold  and  daring,  and  repeatedly  renewed, 
they  were  each  time  bravely  repulsed,  and 
were  finally  compelled  to  retreat  with  great 
loss.  About  two  weeks  subsequent  to  this  at 
tack  on  Fort.  Recovery,  General  Wayne  was 
reinforced  by  a  body  of  mounted  volunteers 
from  Kentucky,  under  the  command  of  Gene 
ral  Scott.  On  the  8th  of  the  following  Au 
gust,  having,  by  a  rapid  movement,  advanced 
seventy  miles  beyond  Greenville,  he  encamped' 
at  Grand  Glaise,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  In 
dian  country.  In  his  dispatch  to  the  War 
Department  on  this  occasion,  the  commander- 
in-chief  says, — "  We  have  thus  gained  posses 
sion  of  the  grand  emporium  of  the  hostile  In 
dians  in  the  west,  without  loss  of  blood.  The 
very  extensive  and  highly-cultivated  fields  and 
gardens  show  the  work  of  many  hands.  The 
margins  of  those  beautiful  rivers,  the  Miami 
of  the  Lake,  and  Au  Glaise,  appear  like  one 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  31 

continued  village  for  a  number  of  miles  above 
and  below  the  place ;  nor  have  I  ever  before 
beheld  such  immense  fields  of  corn  in  any  part 
of  America,  from  Canada  to  Florida." 

A  strong  work,  called  Fort  Defiance,  was 
immediately  erected  by  our  troops  at  the  con 
fluence  of  the  rivers  mentioned  in  the  above 
despatch.  General  Wayne  now  felt  himself 
fully  prepared  for  decisive  operations ;  but  be 
fore  striking  the  final  blow,  he,  in  compliance 
with  his  instructions,  renewed  his  endeavours 
to  conciliate  and  effect  some  amicable  negotia 
tion  with  the  Indians.  "  I  have  thought  pro 
per,"  he  said,  "  to  offer  the  enemy  a  last  over 
ture  of  peace ;  and  as  they  have  every  thing 
that  is  dear  and  interesting  at  stake,  I  have 
reason  to  expect  they  will  listen  to  the  propo 
sition  mentioned  in  the  inclosed  copy  of  an  ad 
dress  dispatched  yesterday  by  a  special  flag, 
under  circumstances  that  will  insure  his  safe 
return,  and  may  eventually  spare  the  effusion 
of  much  human  blood."  "  But  should  war  be 
their  choice,  that  blood  be  upon  their  own 
heads.  America  shall  no  longer  be  insulted 
with  impunity.  To  an  all-powerful  and  just 
God,  I  therefore  commit  myself  and  gallant 
army." 

3* 


32  LIFE  OF 

The  Indians  haughtily  rejected  this  over 
ture,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  Little  Turtle, 
the  celebrated  warrior  who  had  commanded 
the  combined  forces  of  the  Indian  tribes  at  the 
defeat  of  St.  Glair's  army.  This  sagacious 
chief,  at  a  council  held  by  the  Indians  on  the 
night  of  the  19th  of  August,  a  few  hours  only 
before  the  battle,  strongly  recommended  the 
acceptance  of  the  offered  terms  of  peace. 
"  We  have  beaten  the  enemy,"  said  he,  "  twice, 
under  separate  commanders.  We  cannot  ex 
pect  the  same  good  fortune  to  attend  us  al 
ways.  The  Americans  are  now  led  by  a  chief 
who  never  sleeps :  the  night  and  the  day  are 
alike  to  him.  And  during  all  the  time  he  has 
been  marching  upon  our  villages,  notwithstand 
ing  the  watchfulness  of  our  young  men,  we 
have  never  been  able  to  surprise  him.  Think 
well  of  it.  There  is  something  whispers  me 
it  would  be  prudent  to  listen  to  his  offers  of 
peace." 

General  Wayne  had,  in  the  meantime,  left 
Fort  Defiance,  and  advanced  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  Rapids  of  the  Miami,  (now 
generally  known  as  the  Maumee,)  where  the 
British  had  recently  erected  a  strong  fort  for 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  33 

the  purpose  of  encouraging  and  controlling 
the  neighbouring  Indians. 

On  the  19th  of  August  our  troops  were  em 
ployed  in  making  a  temporary  fortification, 
which  they  called  Fort  Deposite,  for  the  pro 
tection  of  their  military  stores  and  baggage, 
and  in  reconnoitring  the  position  of  the  In 
dians  who  were  encamped  behind  a  thick, 
bushy  wood,  and  near  the  British  fort.  On 
the  following  day  was  fought  that  memorable 
battle,  which  we  cannot  better  describe  than 
by  quoting  a  portion  of  the  graphic  account 
of  General  Wayne  himself,  in  his  official  let 
ter  to  the  Secretary  of  War. 

"  At  8  o'clock  on  the  20th,"  said  General 
Wayne,  "the  army  advanced  in  columns, 
agreeably  to  the  standing  order  of  march ;  the 
legion  on  the  right  flank,  covered  by  the  Mi 
ami, — one  brigade  of  mounted  volunteers  on 
the  left,  under  Brigadier  General  Todd,  and 
the  other  in  the  rear,  under  Brigadier  Gen 
eral  Barbee : — a  select  battalion  of  mounted 
volunteers  moved  in  front  of  the  legion,  com 
manded  by  Major  Price,  who  was  directed  to 
keep  sufficiently  advanced — so  as  to  give 
timely  notice  for  the  troops  to  form,  in  case 
of  action — it  being  yet  undetermined  whether 


34  LIFE  OF 

the  Indians  would  decide  for  peace  or  war. 
After  advancing  about  five  miles,  Major 
Price's  corps  received  so  severe  a  fire  from 
the  enemy,  who  were  secreted  in  the  woods 
and  high  grass,  as  to  compel  them  to  retreat. 

"  The  legion  was  immediately  formed  in 
two  lines,  principally  in  a  close,  thick  wood, 
which  extended  for  miles  on  our  left ;  and  for 
a  very  considerable  distance  in  front,  the 
ground  being  covered  with  old  fallen  timber, 
probably  occasioned  by  a  tornado,  which  ren 
dered  it  impracticable  for  cavalry  to  act.  with 
effect,  and  afforded  the  enemy  the  most  favour 
able  covert  for  their  savage  mode  of  warfare, 
they  were  formed  in  three  lines,  within  sup 
porting  distance  of  each  other,  and  extending 
nearly  two  miles,  at  right  angles  with  the 
river. 

"  I  soon  discovered,  from  the  weight  of  the 
fire,  and  extent  of  their  lines,  that  the  enemy 
were  in  full  force  in  front,  in  possession  of 
their  favourite  ground,  and  endeavouring  to 
turn  our  left  flank.  I  therefore  gave  orders 
for  the  second  line  to  advance,  to  support  the 
first,  and  directed  Major  General  Scott  to  gam 
and  turn  the  right  flank  of  the  savages,  with 
the  whole  of  the  mounted  volunteers,  by  a 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  35 

circuitous  route :  at  the  same  time  I  ordered 
the  front  line  to  advance  with  trailed  arms, 
and  rouse  the  Indians  from  their  coverts  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet;  and,  when  up,  to 
deliver  a  close  and  well  directed  fire  on  their 
backs,  followed  by  a  brisk  charge,  so  as  not 
to  give  them  time  to  load  again.  I  also 
ordered  Captain  Campbell,  who  commanded 
the  legionary  cavalry,  to  turn  the  left  flank  of 
the  enemy  next  the  river,  which  afforded  a 
favourable  field  for  that  corps  to  act  in. 

"  All  these  orders  were  obeyed  with  spirit 
and  promptitude ;  but  such  was  the  impetuos 
ity  of  the  charge  of  the  first  line  of  infantry, 
that  'the  Indians  and  Canadian  militia  and 
volunteers  were  driven  from  all  their  coverts 
in  so  short  a  time,  that  although  every  exer 
tion  was  used  by  the  officers  of  the  second 
line  of  the  legion,  and  by  Generals  Scott, 
Todd,  and  Barbee,  of  the  mounted  volunteers, 
to  gain  their  proper  positions,  yet  but  a  part 
of  each  could  get  up  in  season  to  participate 
in  the  action ;  the  enemy  being  driven,  in  the 
course  of  one  hour,  more  than  two  miles, 
through  the  thick  woods  already  mentioned, 
by  less  than  one-half  their  numbers. 

"  From  every  account,  the  enemy  amount- 


36  LIFE  OF 

ed  to  two   thousand  combatants ;  the  troops 
actually  engaged  against  them  were  short  of  ; 
nine  hundred.     This  horde  of  savages,  with 
their   allies,  abandoned  themselves  to  flight, 
and  dispersed  with  terror  and  dismay,  leav 
ing  our  victorious  army  in  full  and  quiet  pos-  * 
session  of  the  field  of  battle,  which  terminated 
under  the  influence  of  the  guns  of  the  British 
garrison. 

"  Inclosed  is  a  particular  return  of  the  lull 
ed  and  wounded — the  loss  of  the  enemy  was 
more  than  double  that  of  the  federal  army.  ' 
The  woods  were  strewed  for  a  considerable 
distance  with  the  dead  bodies  of  the  Indians, 
and  their  white  auxiliaries ;  the  latter  armed 
with  British  muskets  and  bayonets. 

"We  remained  three  days  and  nights  on 
the  banks  of  the  Miami,  in  front  of  the  field 
of  battle,  during  which  all  the  houses  and 
corn-fields  were  consumed  and  destroyed  for 
a  considerable  distance,  both  above  and  below 
Fort  Miami,  as  well  as  within  pistol-shot  of 
that  garrison,  who  were  compelled  to  remain 
tacit  spectators  of  this  general  devastation 
and  conflagration — among  which  were  the 
houses,  stores,  and  property  of  Colonel  M'Kee, 
the  British  Indian  agent,  and  principal  stimu- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  37 

lator  of  the  war  now  existing  between .  the 
United  States  and  the  savages." 

The  success  of  this  brilliant  action,  so 
strongly  in  contrast  to  our  previous  contests 
with  the  Indians,  was  owing,  undoubtedly,  to 
the  high  state  of  discipline  of  the  army,  and 
to  the  consummate  skill  and  judgment  dis 
played  by  General  Wayne,  in  the  entirely 
novel  system  of  tactics  originated  by  him. 
He  not  only  adopted  the  old  and  approved 
mode  of  extending  his  line  and  forming  his 
troops  in  open  order,  to  lessen  their  exposure 
to  the  deadly  aim  of  the  enemy,  but  he  intro 
duced,  likewise,  his  favourite  plan  of  charg 
ing  rapidly  upon  the  Indians,  and  rousing 
them  from  their  coverts  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  and  then  pouring  in  a  close  and 
heavy  fire,  before  they  could  again  shelter 
themselves.  This  system,  which  proved  so 
effectual  at  the  battle  of  the  Maumee  Rapids, 
has  since  been  almost  universally  adopted  in 
our  warfare  with  the  Indians. 

In  his  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
after  this  decisive  action,  General  Wayne,  in 
mentioning  those  whose  good  conduct  and 
intrepidity  were  particularly  conspicuous  on 
this  occasion,  says — "  My  faithful  and  gallant 


38  LIFE  OF 

aid-de-camp,  Lieutenant  Harrison,  rendered 
the  most  essential  service  by  communicating 
my  orders  in  every  direction,  and  by  his  con-  \ 
duct  and  bravery  exciting  the  troops  to  press 
for  victory." 

We  hold  it  not  to  be  amiss  here  to  remark,  • 
that  in  addition  to  the  acknowledged  services 
of  General  Wayne  in  the  camp  and  field,  time 
has  proved  that  that  fearless  soldier  and  dis 
tinguished  commander  has  placed  our  country 
under  a  still  deeper  debt  of  gratitude — since 
the  instructions  he  gave  his  favourite  aid  in 
his  severe  school  of  discipline,  the  example  he 
showed  him,  and  the  experience  he  led  him  to 
acquire  in  the  arduous  campaigns  they  en 
countered  together,  subsequently  in  still  more 
trying  and  perilous  times,  enabled  Harrison 
to  fight  the  battles  of  his  country  against  the 
same  savage  foe  with  such  signal  success, 
that  though  more  frequently  in  conflict  with 
the  enemy  than  any  other  general  in  our  ser 
vice,  and  though  often  attacked  by  vastly  su 
perior  numbers,  he  never  yet  has  been  defeated. 

The  heavy  losses  suffered  by  the  confede 
rated  tribes  in  the  battle  of  the  Maumee  Ra 
pids,  greatly  disheartened  the  Indians,  and 
their  dissatisfaction  was  much  increased  by 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  39 

the  vacillating  conduct  of  Colonel  Campbell, 
the  commander  of  the  British  fort,  who,  after 
their  defeat,  refused  to  take  any  part  on  their 
behalf.  The  distinguished  and  powerful  chiefs, 
Little  Turtle  and  Buckongelas,  doubting  the 
power  of  Great  Britain  to  protect  them,  and 
now  taught  to  respect  our  strength,  openly 
declared  in  favour  of  the  United  States,  and 
by  their  influence,  a  negotiation  for  peace  was 
opened  on  the  first  of  January,  1795.  After 
some  delay,  a  council  was  held  at  Greenville, 
between  General  Wayne  and  a  numerous 
delegation  of  chiefs  and  warriors  from  the 
principal  tribes,  and  an  honourable  and  highly 
advantageous  treaty  was  finally  effected  with 
our  Indian  neighbours.  And  thus,  with  the 
close  of  this  war  were  extinguished  what 
may  be  considered  as  the  last  embers  of  our 
revolutionary  struggle. 

The  impression  produced  in  London  by  the 
news  of  this  final  defeat  of  the  Indians,  is  said 
to  have  had  much  effect  in  hastening  to  a 
conclusion  the  protracted  negotiation,  which 
had  been  so  long  pending  between  Mr.  Jay 
and  Lord  Grenville,  and  which  was  now  ter 
minated  successfully  and  advantageously  to 
our  country. 
4 


40  LIFE  OF 

Soon  after  the  close  of  this  campaign,  Lieu 
tenant  Harrison  received  the  commission  of  a 
captain,  and  was  placed  in  command  of  Fort 
Washington,  under  circumstances  which 
evinced  the  high  estimation  in  which  his  ta 
lents  and  discretion  were  held  by  General 
Wayne.  At  this  period  France  was  at  war 
with  Spain ;  and  certain  agents  of  the  French 
government  had  been  sent  to  Kentucky  by 
Genet,  the  French  minister,  and  were  then 
diligently  employed  in  exciting  the  gallant 
people  of  that  state  to  an  invasion  of  Louisi 
ana,  by  wrhich  means  they  hoped  to  embroil 
our  country  in  a  war  with  Spain.  One  of 
our  distinguished  officers,  General  Clark,  had 
artfully  been  prevailed  upon  to  take  command 
of  the  proposed  expedition,  and  commissions 
were  offered,  and  money  and  munitions  of  war 
freely  promised,  to  induce  the  adventurous 
spirits  of  the  West  to  engage  in  a  campaign 
for  the  purpose  of  wresting  Louisiana  from 
the  Spaniards.  This  project  was  peculiarly 
attractive  to  the  Kentuckians,  who  had  long 
felt  aggrieved  by  the  refusal  of  t«he  Spaniards 
to  allow  them  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  river.  Our  government  was  soon  made 
aware  of  this  scheme,  and  serious  apprehen- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  41 

sions  were  entertained  that  some  hasty  and 
rash  act  of  hostility  would  involve  us  in  a  war 
with  Spain.  General  Wayne  received  in 
structions  to  adopt  every  precaution  to  pre 
vent  the  occurrence  of  such  a  result ;  and  in 
giving  the  command  of  Fort  Washington  to 
Captain  Harrison,  he  left  with  him  extensive 
discretionary  powers  in  relation  to  the  ma 
nagement  of  this  delicate  responsibility.  About 
this  time,  too,  in  compliance  with  the  terms 
of  Jay's  treaty,  the  military  posts,  which,  in 
defiance  of  good  faith,  had  been  established 
by  the  British  on  our  northwestern  frontier, 
were  given  up  to  the  United  States ;  and 
Captain  Harrison  was  charged  with  the  im 
portant  duty  of  dispatching  from  Fort  Wash 
ington  the  troops  destined  to  take  possession 
of  the  surrendered  forts,  and  of  forwarding 
through  the  wilderness  the  stores  and  muni 
tions  of  war  necessary  for  these  remote  posts. 
These  various  duties  were  discharged  by 
Captain  Harrison  with  so  much  fidelity,  skill 
and  prudence,  as  fully  to  prove  the  judicious 
discrimination  of  General  Wayne  in  his  selec 
tion  of  the  commander  of  so  important  a  sta 
tion  as  Fort  Washington,  and  to  justify  his 
unusual  confidence  in  so  young  an  officer. 


42  LIFE  OF 

While  in  command  of  Fort  Washington, 
Captain  Harrison  married  the  daughter  of 
John  Cleves  Symmes,  the  celebrated  founder 
of  the  Miami  settlements — a  lady  who  com 
mands  the  esteem  and  respect  of  all  who  know 
her. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Harrison  resigns  his  commission  in  the  army. — Is  ap 
pointed  Secretary  and  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the 
North-western  Territory. —  Is  elected  Delegate  to 
Congress. — Introduces  a  bill  to  regulate  the  disposal 
of  the  public  lands. — Its  justice  and  true  policy. — Its 
success.  —  The  Northwestern  Territory  divided. — 
Harrison  resigns  his  seat  in  Congress. — Is  appointed 
Governor  of  Indiana  Territory. 

CAPTAIN  HARRISON  remained  in  the  army  till 
near  the  close  of  the  year  ]797;  when,  soon 
after  the  death  of  his  friend  General  Wayne, 
as  peace  had  been  established  with  the  In 
dians,  and  there  was  no  longer  an  opportunity 
to  serve  his  country  in  the  field,  he  resigned 
his  commission,  to  commence  his  career  of 
civil  services.  He  was  almost  immediately 
appointed  Secretary,  and,  cx-offlcio,  Lieutenant 
Governor  of  the  Northwestern  Territory ; 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  43 

which  then  embraced  the  whole  extent  of  our 
territory  lying  north-west  of  the  Ohio  river- — 
thus,  by  a  just  award,  receiving  his  first  civil 
appointment,  in  that  part  of  our  country  which 
he  had  first  perilled  his  life  to  defend. 

While  in  this  station,  he  entered  so  warmly 
into  the  interests  of  the  people,  and  his  intelli 
gence,  and  the  kindness  and  urbanity  of  his 
manners  rendered  him  so  popular,  that,  when, 
in  the  following  year,  the  Northwestern  Ter 
ritory  entered  the  second  grade  of  govern 
ment,  according  to  the  system  which  then 
prevailed,  and  the  inhabitants  became  entitled 
to  representation  in  the  councils  of  the  nation, 
they  almost  unanimously  elected  him  their  first 
delegate  to  Congress.  Mr.  Harrison  was,  at 
this  time,  about  twenty-six  years  of  age. 

He  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Represent 
atives  at  the  first  session  of  the  sixth  Con 
gress,  in  December,  1799.  There  were  then 
in  Congress  some  of  the  ablest  and  most  en 
lightened  statesmen,  and  some  of  the  most  elo 
quent  men  our  country  has  ever  produced. 
Yet  in  this  severe  ordeal,  the  abilities  and 
manly  energies  of  Mr.  Harrison  soon  com 
manded  universal  respect.  At  this  period,  the 
all-engrossing  subject  in  the  west,  and  one  in 
4* 


44  LIFE  OF 

which  our  whole  country  had  a  deep  interest, 
was  the  sale  of  the  public  lands.  The  manner 
in  which  these  lands  had  been  hitherto  disposed 
of,  had  created  great  dissatisfaction  among  the 
people.  They  had  been  sold  only  in  large 
tracts ;  the  smallest  of  which  included,  at  least, 
four  thousand  acres ;  and  as  the  minimum 
price  was  at  that  time  two  dollars  per  acre,  a 
great  majority  of  the  new  settlers  were  utterly 
precluded  from  becoming  possessors  of  land 
by  an  original  purchase  from  the  government. 
Our  hardy  yeomanry,  with  limited  pecuniary 
means,  were  thus  entirely  shut  out  from  all 
chance  of  competition  with  wealthy  specula 
tors  and  grasping  monopolists,  —  the  poorer 
emigrants  were  becoming  disheartened  at  the 
chilling  prospects  before  them,  and  the  settle 
ment  of  the  new  country  was  greatly  retarded. 
Fully  aware  of  the  impolicy  and  injustice  of 
this  state  of  things,  and  true  to  the  trust  con 
fided  to  him,  Mr.  Harrison's  earliest  legislative 
efforts  were  made  to  overthrow  this  exclusive 
and  pernicious  system.  He  aroused  the  atten 
tion  of  Congress  to  the  consideration  of  this 
important  subject,  and  evinced  so  intimate  an 
acquaintance  with  the  facts  and  business  de 
tails  connected  with  it,  that  he  was  appointed 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  45 

chairman  of  a  committee  raised  to  examine 
into  and  report  on  the  existing  mode  of  dis 
posing  of  the  public  lands ;  the  only  instance, 
it  is  believed,  in  which  that  honour  has  been 
conferred  on  a  territorial  delegate.  After  a 
proper  investigation,  he  presented  a  report, 
accompanied  by  a  bill,  the  principal  object  of 
which  was  to  reduce  the  size  of  the  tracts  of 
public  land  offered  for  sale,  to  such  a  smaller 
number  of  acres  as  would  place  them  within 
the  reach  of  actual  settlers.  This  masterly 
report,  which  was  the  joint  production  of  him 
self  and  Mr.  Gallatin,  together  with  the  great 
ability  and  eloquence  with  which  he  defended 
his  bill  from  the  powerful  opposition  it  encoun 
tered  in  the  House,  gained  Mr.  Harrison  a 
reputation  rarely  attained  by  so  young  a  states 
man.  The  bill  was  carried  triumphantly  in 
the  House,  and  finally,  after  some  amend 
ments,  passed  the  Senate.  The  result  was, 
that  the  public  lands,  instead  of  being  offered 
only  in  large  tracts,  of  which  four  thousand 
acres  was  the  smallest  size,  were  now  to  be 
sold  in  alternate  sections  and  half  sections — - 
the  former  containing  640,  and  the  latter  320 
acres  each.  The  point  gained  was  of  immense 
importance,  since,  from  the  low  price  of  these 


46  LIFE  OF 

lands,  and  the  small  amount  of  purchase  money 
required  to  be  paid,  they  were  now,  with  the 
aid  of  industry,  within  the  reach  of  nearly  all 
the  poorer  emigrants  and  actual  settlers,  who 
felt  a  natural  desire  to  own  the  fee  simple  of 
their  homes,  and  of  the  lands  they  subdued 
from  the  wilderness.  Thousands  of  the  hardy 
and  industrious  farmers  of  our  Northern  and 
Middle  States,  and  many  of  the  poorer  plant 
ers  of  the  South,  availed  themselves  of  the  fair 
field  which  was  now  opened  for  emigration 
and  enterprise;  and  we  may  justly  consider 
this  happy  result,  which  Mr.  Harrison  was  so 
instrumental  in  producing,  as  one  of  the  lead 
ing  causes  of  the  rapid  settlement  and  pros 
perity  of  our  Western  Country. 

The  justice  and  true  policy  of  reducing  the 
size  of  the  tracts  of  public  lands  offered  for 
sale  having  been  once  admitted,  subsequent 
legislators  have  found  it  not  only  a  politic,  but 
a  popular  measure,  and  have  followed  up  the 
principle  thus  introduced  by  Mr.  Harrison, 
until  now  our  public  lands  may  be  bought  in 
tracts  of  but  eighty  acres  each,  and  at  the 
price  of  only  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents 
per  acre — wbereas,  but  for  the  first  blow  at 
the  old  system  struck  by  Mr.  Harrison,  and 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  47 

but  for  the  wise  and  just  principle  first  intro 
duced  by  him,  that  exclusive  system  might 
perhaps  still  have  continued  —  in  which  case 
we  feel  assured  of  being  within  bounds  in  as 
serting  that  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
the  mighty  empire  of  the  West,  would  not,  at 
this  day,  have  numbered  one  half  the  popula 
tion,  nor  boasted  a  moiety  of  the  wealth  it 
now  contains. 

In  the  year  1800,  the  North-western  Terri 
tory  was  divided.  That  part  of  the  old  terri 
tory,  included  within  the  present  boundaries 
of  Ohio  and  Michigan,  retained  its  former 
name ;  and  the  immense  extent  of  country 
north-west  of  this,  was  erected  into  a  separate 
government,  and  received  the  name  of  Indiana. 
Soon  after  this  division  had  taken  place,  Mr. 
Harrison  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress,  and 
was  appointed  governor  of  the  new  territory. 
This  appointment  gave  great  satisfaction  to 
the  people  of  Indiana,  with  whom  the  patriotic 
exertions  of  Mr.  Harrison  had  rendered  him 
deservedly  popular ;  and  it  was,  at  the  same 
time,  the  strongest  evidence  of  the  confidence 
with  which  the  general  government  relied  upon 
his  integrity,  prudence,  and  capacity  for  civil 
government. 


48  LIFE  OF 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Condition  of  Indiana  Territory. — Harrison  is  appointed 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  and  Commissioner 
for  treating  with  the  Indians. — His  extensive  juris 
diction  and  powers. — Harrison's  address  to  the  terri 
torial  legislature. — The  cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  * 
United  States. 

THE  vast  extent  of  this  new  territory  in 
cluded  what  now  constitutes  the  states  of  In 
diana,  Illinois,  and  Michigan,  and  the  territory 
of  Wisconsin.  But  the  small  population  it 
then  contained  was  thinly  scattered  through 
a  vast  wilderness,  and  only  three  white  set 
tlements  of  any  note  existed  within  its  bound 
aries.  One  of  these  was  at  the  seat  of  go 
vernment,  Vincennes,  a  small  town  originally 
built  by  the  French,  and  beautifully  and  ad 
vantageously  situated  on  the  banks  of  the 
Wabash  ;  the  second,  known  as  Clark's  Grant, 
was  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  nearly  opposite 
Louisville,  about  one  hundred  miles  from  Vin 
cennes  ;  and  the  third  was  the  French  settle 
ment  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  near  St. 
Louis,  and  more  than  two  hundred  miles  dis 
tant  from  the  seat  of  government.  The  com- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  49 

munication  between  these  remote  points  was, 
at  all  times,  difficult  and  toilsome,  and  often 
attended  with  great  danger.  There  existed 
no  practicable  roads,  and  nearly  all  the  inter 
mediate  country  was  occupied  by  the  Indians, 
or  overrun  by  their  hunting  parties.  Most  of 
these  savage  tribes,  though  professing  to  be 
friendly,  were  restless  and  dissatisfied;  and 
their  leading  chiefs  still  nursed  a  moody  hope 
of  revenge  for  the  mortifying  defeat  they  had 
sustained,  six  years  before,  at  the  battle  of  the 
Maumee  Rapids.  Artful  and  treacherous,  nu 
merous,  warlike,  and  thirsting  for  plunder,  they 
kept  this  remote  frontier  in  continual  excite 
ment  and  alarm.  The  angry  feelings  of  our 
hardy  borderers  were  frequently  roused  by 
some  robbery  or  atrocious  aggression  com 
mitted  by  the  more  evil-disposed  among  their 
savage  neighbours,  and  quarrels  often  ensued, 
which  threatened  the  peace  of  the  whole  com 
munity. 

Such  was  the  existing  state  of  things  in  In 
diana  Territory,  when  Mr.  Harrison  was 
appointed  to  the  administration  of  its  govern 
ment.  As  governor  of  a  frontier  territory  so 
peculiarly  situated,  Mr.  Harrison  was  invested 
with  civil  powers  of  the  most  important  na- 


50  LIFE  OF 

ture,  as  well  as  with  military  authority.  Be 
sides  the  ordinary  powers  which  he  held,  ex- 
cfficio,  as  governor,  he  had  the  sole  power  of 
dividing  the  district  into  counties  and  town 
ships  ;  and,  with  the  aid  of  the  judges,  had  full 
authority  to  adopt  and  publish  such  laws,  both 
civil  and  criminal,  of  the  original  states,  as 
might  be  necessary  and  best  adapted  to  the 
wants  and  situation  of  the  district;  and  he 
had  the  appointment  of  all  the  magistrates 
and  other  civil  officers.  He  was  made  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  militia,  and  all  the  offi 
cers  below  the  rank  of  general  received  their 
commissions  from  him.  He  was  likewise  ap 
pointed  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  and 
agent  and  representative  of  the  general  govern 
ment  ;  in  performance  of  the  duties  of  which 
office,  he  was  required  to  keep  up  a  constant 
and  voluminous  correspondence  with  the  Cabi 
net  at  Washington.  He  had  also  the  unusual 
power  of  conferring  on  a  numerous  class  of 
individuals,  a  legal  title  to  large  grants  of  land, 
on  which  they  before  held  merely  an  equitable 
claim.  His  sole  signature  was  sufficient, 
without  any  other  formality,  to  give  a  valid 
title  to  these  extensive  and  valuable  tracts  of 
land.  No  other  formality  or  publicity  was 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  51 

required,  and  whatever  secret  collusion  might 
have  existed  between  the  claimant  and  the 
governor,  the  title  would  still  have  been  un 
questionable  before  any  legal  tribunal.  Pos 
sessed  of  this  immense  power,  without  check 
or  limitation,  opportunities  were  continually 
before  him  of  accumulating  a  princely  for 
tune  ;  but  the  scrupulous  sense  '  of  honour, 
which  has  always  characterized  Mr.  Harri 
son,  would  never  permit  him  to  speculate  in 
lands  over  which  he  had  any  control.  Dur 
ing  the  whole  of  the  time  that  he  held  this 
important  trust,  he  never  availed  himself  of 
his  peculiar  advantages  to  promote  his  own 
interests  either  directly  or  indirectly ;  and  it 
is  a  fact  worthy  of  particular  note,  that,  even 
to  the  present  time,  he  has  never  owned  a 
single  acre  of  land,  the  title  to  which,  origi 
nally,  emanated  from  himself  as  the  repre 
sentative  of  the  government.  No  shadow  of 
suspicion  has  ever  clouded  his  honour,  his 
honesty  or  disinterestedness ;  and  not  a  mur 
mur  ever  accused  him  of  partiality,  or*  even 
of  unnecessary  delay,  in  the  performance  of 
this  delicate  duty.  We  allude  to  this  to  show 
that  the  integrity  of  Mr.  Harrison  is  well-tried 
and  practical ;  and  that  it  has  always  shone 
5 


52  LIFE  OF 

with  the  purest  lustre  when  assailed  by  the 
strongest  temptations. 

In  1803,  Mr.  Jefferson  appointed  Governor 
Harrison  sole  "  commissioner  to  enter  into 
any  treaties  which  might  be  necessary  with 
any  Indian  tribes,  north-west  of  the  Ohio,  and  • 
within  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  on 
the  subject  of  their  boundaries  or  lands."  By  * 
virtue  of  this  authority,  in  the  following  year, 
Harrison  succeeded  in  negotiating  a  treaty 
with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes;  and  besides  the 
amicable  relations  established  with  those 
tribes,  he  obtained  the  cession  of  an  extensive 
tract  of  country,  including  the  whole  of  the 
valuable  region  between  the  river  Illinois  and 
the  Mississippi,  with  a  northern  boundary, 
stretching  from  the  head  of  Fox  river  to  a 
point  on  the  Wisconsin,  thirty-six  miles  above 
its  mouth.  This  was  the  largest  cession  of 
lands  that  had  ever  yet  been  made  by  the 
Indians  at  any  one  time.  Considerable  tracts 
of  land  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Wabash, 
and  "extending  from  Vincennes  westward  to 
the.  Mississippi,  were  likewise  purchased  by 
annuities  from  the  Delawares  and  the  Mia-  ' 
mies.  We  may  here  appropriately  remark 
that  during  the  entire  course  of  his  adminis- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  53 

tration,  Harrison  effected  thirteen  important 
treaties  with  the  different  tribes,  on  the  most 
advantageous  terms  ;  and  obtained  from  them, 
at  various  times,  the  cession  of  large  tracts  of 
land,  amounting,  in  ^all,  to  more  than  sixty  mil 
lions  of  acres,  and  embracing  a  large  portion 
of  the  richest  region  in  our  country. 

In  their  frequent  intercourse  with  Governor 
Harrison,  the  Indians  had  learned  to  respect 
his  undaunted  firmness,  and  were,  at  the  same 
time,  conciliated  by  his  kindness  of  manner 
and  considerate  forbearance.  This,  with  his 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character, 
is  the  true  secret  of  the  remarkable  success 
invariably  attendant  upon  every  treaty  he  has 
attempted  to  negotiate. 

The  various  and  arduous  duties  of  the  go 
vernor  of  Indiana,  required  for  this  office  a 
man  of  very  superior  abilities  and  qualifica 
tions,  and  of  a  rare  temperament — one  pos 
sessed  of  a  stern  integrity  and  prudent 
moderation,  with  wisdom  in  the  exercise  of 
the  extensive  powers  entrusted  to  him,  ac 
companied  by  the  most  unwavering  firmness. 
Such  a  man  Governor  Harrison,  in  the  long 
course  of  his  administration,  fully  proved 
himself  to  be.  The  plainest  evidence  that  can 


54  LIFE  OF 

be  presented  to  those  who  are  not  familiar 
with  the  history  of  Indiana,  during  this  event-  ' 
ful  period,  of  the  peculiar  fitness  of  Governor 
Harrison  for  this  important  station,  of  the 
confidence  reposed  in  him,  and  of  the  great 
popularity  he  attained  while  in  the  exercise 
of  so  delicate  a  trust,  is  the  unquestionable  • 
fact,  that,  for  thirteen  years,  at  every  succes 
sive  expiration  of  his  term  of  office,  he  was 
re-appointed,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the 
people  of  the  Territory,  and  with  the  public 
expression  of  the  most  flattering  approbation 
on  the  part  of  our  chief  Executive.  And  this 
too,  notwithstanding  the  entire  change  which 
had  taken  place  within  that  time  in  the  ruling 
politics  of  the  country — his  first  appointment 
having  been  made  by  Mr.  Adams,  his  second 
and  third  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  his  fourth  by 
Mr.  Madison.  The  following  extract  from 
tfre  resolution,  unanimously  passed  by  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  Indiana,  in  the 
year  1809,  requesting  the  re-appointment  of 
Governor  Harrison,  will  show  the  estimate 
which  a  long  acquaintance  had  taught  them 
of  his  wqrth :  "  They  (the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives)  cannot  forbear  recommending  to, 
and  requesting  of,  the  President  and  Senate, 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  55 

most  earnestly  in  their  own  names,  and  in  the 
names  of  their  constituents,  the  re-appoint 
ment  of  the  present  governor,  William  Henry 
Harrison, —  because  he  possesses  the  good 
wishes  and  affection  of  a  great  majority  of 
his  fellow-citizens ; — because  they  believe  him 
sincerely  attached  to  the  Union,  the  prosperity 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  administration 
of  its  government ;  because  they  believe  him 
in  a  superior  degree  capable  of  promoting  the 
interest  of  our  Territory,  from  long  expe 
rience  and  laborious  attention  to  its  concerns, 
from  his  influence  over  the  Indians,  and  wise 
and  disinterested  management  of  that  depart 
ment  ;  aud  because  they  have  confidence  in 
his  virtues,  talents,  and  republicanism." 

If  necessary,  we  might  fill  a  goodly  volume 
with  extracts  from  public  documents  of  a 
similar  nature  ;  but  what  stronger  proof  than 
this  could  we  have  of  the  popularity  of  Go 
vernor  Harrison,  and  of  the  entire  confidence 
with  which  the  people  relied  on  his  experi 
ence,  his  integrity,  and  his  ability  as  a  states 
man  ? 

In  1805,  the  Territory  of  Indiana  was  ad 
vanced  to  the  second  grade  of  government 
under  the  new  system.  The  citizens  were 
5* 


56  LIFE  OF 

allowed  to  elect  a  Territorial  House  of  As 
sembly,  by  which  ten  persons  were  nominated, 
out  of  whom  the  president  appointed  five  as  a 
legislative  council  to  complete  the  territorial 
legislature.  ,This  measure  deprived  Governor 
Harrison  of  much  power  and  great  patronage, 
since  it  threw  into  the  hands  of  the  people  the 
election  of  many  officers  who  were  before 
appointed  by  the  executive  —  but  always  a 
ready  advocate  for  the  republican  rights  of 
suffrage  and  self-government,  he  was  true  to 
his  principles  even  when  against  his  interest, 
and  he  strenuously  urged  this  change  of  go 
vernment. 

Nearly  two  years  prior  to  this  time,  by  a 
brilliant  negotiation,  a  treaty  had  been  effected 
in  Paris,  by  which  Louisiana  was  purchased 
by  our  government  from  France  (to  whom  it 
had  been  ceded  by  Spain)  for  eighty  millions 
of  francs,  or  about  fifteen  millions  of  dollars; 
and  we  were  thus  finally  enabled  to  realize 
the  boundaries  of  the  ancient  charters  granted 
by  the  British  monarchs  to  their  American 
colonies,  and  extend  the  limits  of  the  territory 
of  the  United  States  "  from  sea  to  sea."  Upon 
our  obtaining  actual  possession  of  Louisiana, 
the  jurisdiction  of  Governor  Harrison  became 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  57 

greatly  enlarged,  and  the  responsibility  and 
laborious  duties  of  his  station  were  conse 
quently  much  increased.  The  governor  refers 
to  this  annexation  of  Louisiana  to  the  United 
States,  in  his  address  at  the  first  session  of  the 
territorial  legislature — a  document  so  remark 
able  for  its  high-minded  and  purely  republican 
spirit,  and  for  its  clearness  and  fluency  of 
style,  that  notwithstanding  our  narrow  limits 
we  cannot  refrain  from  laying  some  portions 
of  it  before  our  readers. 

"Upon  a  careful  review  of  our  situation," 
said  Governor  Harrison,  "  it  will  be  found  that 
we  have  much  cause  of  felicitation,  whether  it 
respects  our  present  enjoyments  or  our  future 
prosperity.  An  enlightened  and  generous 
policy  has  for  ever  removed  all  cause  of  con 
tention  with  our  western  neighbours.  The 
mighty  river  which  separates  us  from  the 
Louisianians  will  never  be  stained  with  the 
blood  of  contending  nations,  but  will  prove  the 
bond  of  our  union,  and  will  convey  upon  its 
bosom,  in  the  course  of  many  thousand  miles, 
the  produce  of  our  great  and  united  empire. 
The  astonished  traveller  will  behold  upon 
either  bank  a  people  governed  by  the  same 
laws,  pursuing  the  same  objects,  and  warmed 


58  LIFE  OF 

with  the  same  love  of  liberty  and  science. 
And  if,  in  the  immense  distance,  a  small  point 
should  present  itself,  where  other  laws  and 
other  manners  prevail,  the  contrast  it  will  af 
ford  will  serve  the  useful  purpose  of  demon 
strating  the  great  superiority  of  a  republican 
government,  and  how  far  the  uncontrolled  and 
unbiassed  industry  of  freemen  excels  the  cau 
tious  and  measured  exertions  of  the  subjects 
of  despotic  power. 

"  The  acquisition  of  Louisiana  will  form  an 
important  epoch  in  the  history  of  our  country. 
It  has  secured  the  happiness  of  millions,  who 
will  bless  the  moment  of  their  emancipation, 
and  the  generous  policy  which  has  secured  to 
them  the  rights  of  men.  To  us  it  has  pro 
duced  immediate  and  important  advantages. 
We  are  no  longer  apprehensive  of  waging  an 
eternal  war  with  the  numerous  and  warlike 
tribes  of  aborigines  that  surround  us,  and  per 
haps  being  reduced  to  the  dreadful  alternative 
of  submitting  to  their  depredations,  or  of  ex 
terminating  them  from  the  earth. 

"  By  cutting  off  their  communication  with 
every  foreign  power,  and  forcing  them  to  pro 
cure  from  ourselves  the  arms  and  ammunition, 
and  such  of  the  European  manufactures  as 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  59 

habit  has  to  them  rendered  necessary,  we 
have  not  only  secured  their  entire  dependence, 
but  the  means  of  ameliorating  their  condition, 
and  of  devoting  to  some  useful  and  beneficial 
purpose  the  ardour  and  energy  of  mind  which 
are  now  devoted  to  war  and  destruction. 
The  policy  of  the  United  States,  w^ith  regard 
to  the  savages  within  their  territories,  forms  a 
striking  contrast  with  the  conduct  of  other  civil 
ized  nations.  The  measures  of  the  latter  ap 
pear  to  have  been  well  calculated  for  the  effect 
which  has  produced  the  entire  extirpation  of 
the  unhappy  people  whose  country  they  have 
usurped.  It  is  in  the  United  States  alone  that 
laws  have  been  passed,  not  only  for  their, 
safety  and  protection  from  every  species  of 
injury,  but  considerable  sums  of  money  have 
been  appropriated,  and  agents  employed,  to 
humanize  their  minds,  and  instruct  them  in 
such  arts  of  civilized  life  as  they  are  capable 
of  receiving.  To  provide  a  substitute  for  the 
chase,  from  which  they  derive  their  support, 
and  which,  from  the  extension  of  our  settle 
ments,  is  daily  becoming  more  precarious,  has 
been  considered  a  sacred  duty.  The  humane 
and  benevolent  intentions  of  the  government, 
however,  will  for  ever  be  defeated,  unless  ef- 


60  LIFE  OF 

fectual  measures  be  devised  to  prevent  the 
sale  of  ardent  spirits  to  those  unhappy  people. 
The  law  which  has  been  passed  by  Congress 
for  that  purpose,  has  been  found  entirely  inef 
fectual,  because  its  operation  has  been  con 
strued  to  relate  to  the  Indian  country  exclu 
sively.  In  calling  your  attention  to  this  sub 
ject,  gentlemen,  I  am  persuaded  that  it  is 
unnecessary  to  remind  you,  that  the  article 
of  compact  makes  it  your  duty  to  attend  to  it. 
The  interests  of  your  constituents,  the  interests 
of  the  miserable  Indians,  and  your  own  feel 
ings,  will  sufficiently  urge  you  to  take  it  into 
your  most  serious  consideration,  and  provide 
the  remedy  which  is  to  save  thousands  of  our 
fellow-creatures.  So  destructive  has  the  pro 
gress  of  intemperance  been  among  them,  that 
whole  villages  have  been  swept  away.  A 
miserable  remnant  is  all  that  remains,  to  mark 
the  names  and  situation  of  many  numerous 
and  warlike  tribes.  In  the  energetic  language 
of  one  of  their  orators,  it  is  a  dreadful  confla 
gration,  which  spreads  misery  and  desolation 
through  their  country,  and  threatens  the  anni 
hilation  of  the  whole  race.  Is  it  then  to  be 
admitted  as  a  political  axiom,  that  the  neigh 
bourhood  of  a  civilized  nation  is  incompatible 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  61 

with  the  existence  of  savages  ?  Are  the  bless 
ings  of  our  republican  government  only  to  be 
felt  by  ourselves?  Arid  are  the  natives  of 
North  America  to  experience  the  same  fate 
with  their  brethren  of  the  southern  continent  ? 
It  is  with  you,  gentlemen,  to  divert  from  those 
children  of  nature  the  ruin  that  hangs  over 
them.  Nor  can  I  believe  that  the  time  will 
be  considered  misspent,  which  is  devoted  to 
an  object  so  consistent  with  the  spirit  of  Chris 
tianity,  and  with  the  principles  of  republican 
ism." 

The  reply  of  the  Territorial  Assembly  to 
this  address,  manifested  the  high  estimation  in 
which  Governor  Harrison  was  held ;  and  is 
one  of  the  many  proofs  of  his  singular  popu 
larity,  and  of  the  entire  confidence  reposed  in 
his  abilities,  and  in  his  disinterestedness  and 
moderation  "in  the  exercise  of  the  extensive 
authority  entrusted  to  him. 


62  LIFE  OF 


CHAPTER  V. 

Intrigues  of  Tecumthe  and  the  Prophet. — The  Pro 
phet's  visit  to  Vincennes  and  interview  with  Harri-, 
son. — Treaty  of  Fort  Wayne. — Pissatisfaction  of 
Tecumthe. — Tecumthe's  interview  with  the  Gover-> 
nor. — The  Governor's  firmness  and  intrepidity. — 
Harrison's  Message  to  the  Legislature. — Triumphant 
refutation  of  slander. 

Iw  the  following  year,  1806,  our  friendly 
relations  with  the  Indians  were  broken  in 
upon,  and  the  plans  our  government  had  form 
ed  to  civilize  them,  and  ameliorate  their  con 
dition,  were  entirely  destroyed  by  a  new  and 
very  remarkable  influence. 

Two  twin  brothers  of  the  Shawnee  tribe, 
.Tecumthe,  the  Crouching  Panther,  and  Ol-li- 
wa-chi-ca,  the  Open  Door,  generally  known  as 
the  Prophet,  commenced  a  series  of  artful  and 
daring  intrigues  among  the  Indians  on  our 
north-western  frontier,  which  finally  involved 
them  in  a  war  with  our  country,  destined  to  re 
sult  in  the  expulsion  of  many  of  these  warlike  , 
tribes  from  all  their  old  and  favourite  hunting- 
grounds. 

Tecumthe  and  his  brother  differed  widely 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  63 

in  character,  but  their  separate  accomplish 
ments  and  their  peculiar  qualifications  well  fit 
ted  them  to  prosecute  the  design  they  had 
formed. 

Tecumthe  was  a  bold  and  skilful  warrior, 
sagacious  in  council  and  formidable  in  battle. 
An  active,  daring,  energetic  man,  but  one  who 
preferred  tact  and  secret  management  to  open 
violence.  Deeply  imbued  with  a  hatred  to  the 
whites,  against  whom  he  had  sworn  an  unre 
lenting  enmity,  full  of  enthusiasm  and  highly 
gifted  with  eloquence,  he  appealed  with  great 
success  to  the  passions  of  the  Indians,  in  his 
endeavours  to  rouse  them  to  a  hostile  feeling 
against  the  United  States.  Tecumthe,  never 
theless,  possessed  a  loftier  spirit  and  a  higher 
and  better  tone  of  feeling  than  is  often  found 
in  the  savage  warrior ;  and  on  several  occa 
sions  during  the  ensuing  war,  he  evinced  a  for 
bearance  and  generosity  which  might  well 
have  put  his  more  civilized  allies  to  the  blush. 

The  Prophet  had  none  of  the  nobler  quali 
ties  of  his  brother.  He  was  cunning,  cruel, 
cowardly,  and  treacherous.  He  was  no  war 
rior,  but  was  an  accomplished  and  persuasive 
orator.  A  shrewd  and  crafty  impostor,  he  an 
nounced  himself  as  a  medicine  man,  or  magi- 
6 


64  LIFE  OF 

cian,  possessed  of  vast  and  miraculous  pow 
ers,  and  as  having  been  specially  sent  by  the 
Great  Spirit  to  reform  the  condition  of  the  red 
people,  to  restore  them  to  their  former  pros 
perity,  and  to  replace  them  in  the  possession 
of  their  lost  prairies  and  hunting-grounds. 

Availing  himself  of  the  superstition  com 
mon  to  all  ignorant  and  uncivilized  people,  the 
Prophet  commenced  a  series  of  wild  incanta 
tions,  and,  from  time  to  time,  uttered  extrava 
gant  prophecies  of  the  speedy  downfall  of  the 
whites  and  the  approaching  success  of  the  red 
men,  until  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  so  strong 
a  hold  upon  the  credulity  of  the  deluded  In 
dians,  that  his  influence  over  the  warriors  of 
several  powerful  tribes  became  almost  un 
bounded. 

The  object  of  these  arch-intriguers  was  to 
form  a  general  combination  of  all  the  North 
western  and  South-western  tribes  of  Indians, 
for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  whites  from 
extending  any  new  settlements  west  of  those 
already  existing ;  and  with  the  vain  hope,  too, 
that  by  a  simultaneous  attack  on  the  whole  oft 
our  extensive,  thinly-inhabited,  and  ill-defend 
ed  western  frontier,  they  might  force  back  the 
whites  from  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  65 

regain  a  much-coveted  portion  of  their  former 
territory.  This  scheme  is  supposed  to  have 
been  suggested  to  Tecumthe  by  the  noted  chief 
and  warrior  Red  Jacket.  It  is  the  same  plan 
which  cost  the  celebrated  Pontiac  his  life,  and 
one  which  the  no  less  distinguished  Little  Tur 
tle  is  said  to  have  cherished  until  the  haughty 
spirit  of  the  Indians  was  broken  and  subdued 
by  their  disheartening  defeat  at  the  Maumee 
Rapids.  These  designs  of  Tecumthe  and  his 
wily  brother  soon  became  known  to  Governor 
Harrison,  who,  aware  of  his  dangerous  and 
critical  position,  by  prudent  forbearance  and 
wise  policy,  was  enabled  for  several  years  to 
hold  his  savage  neighbours  in  check. 

In  the  summer  of  1808,  the  Prophet  en 
camped  with  his  followers  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tippecanoe,  a  tributary  to  the  Upper  Wabash; 
with  the  design  of  being  in  the  more  immedi 
ate  neighbourhood  of  his  most  powerful  par 
tisans. 

About  this  time,  our  relations  with  Great 
Britain  began  to  assume  a  threatening  aspect, 
and  war  seemed  almost  inevitable.  The  Brit 
ish  emissaries  and  Canadians,  anxious  under 
these  circumstances  to  secure  the  aid  of  the 
Indians,  used  every  endeavour,  by  presents 


66  LIFE  OF 

and  artful  promises,  to  form  strict  alliances 
with  all  the  powerful  tribes*  which  they  hoped 
to  effect  through  the  aid  of  the  Prophet. 

The  plans  of  the  Prophet  and  his  brother 
were  not  yet  fully  matured;  and  conscious 
that  Governor  Harrison  suspected  their  hostile 
designs,  this  cunning  impostor  formed  the  au 
dacious  resolve  to  visit  the  governor,  and  en 
deavour  to  deceive  his  vigilance  and  lull  his 
suspicions  to  rest,  by  protestations  of  his  ami 
cable  intentions.  He  accordingly  made  his 
appearance  at  Vincennes  in  the  following 
month  of  August,  and  made  such  warm  and 
apparently  sincere  professions  of  his*  friendly 
and  peaceful  purposes,  as  to  leave  rather  a  fa 
vourable  impression  on  all  who  listened  to  his 
assurances.  But  immediately  after  his  return 
to  Tippecanoe,  he  renewed  his  hostile  intrigues 
with  the  neighbouring  Indians,  intelligence  of 
which  was  soon  conveyed  to  the  governor. 

In  September,  1809,  Governor  Harrison  held 
a  council  at  Fort  Wayne,  and  negotiated  a 
treaty  with  the  Miamies,  Delawares,  Potawa- 
tomies,  and  Kickapoos,  by  which  he  succeed 
ed  in  purchasing  from  those  tribes  an  extensive 
tract  of  country  on  both  sides  of  the  Wabash, 
and  extending  up  that  river  more  than  sixty 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  67 

miles  above  Vincennes.  The  tribes  who  owned 
these  lands  were  paid  for  them  by  certain,  an 
nuities  which  they  considered  a  satisfactory 
equivalent. 

Tecumthe  was  absent  at  this  time  on  a  visit 
to  the  distant  tribes,  and  the  Prophet  not  feel 
ing  himself  interested,  had  made  no  opposition 
to  the  treaty ;  but  on  the  return  of  Tecumthe, 
some  months  after,  both  he  and  his  brother  ex 
pressed  great  dissatisfaction,  and  even  threat 
ened  to  put  to  death  all  those  chiefs  who  had 
signed  the  treaty.  Hearing  this,  and  anxious 
too  to  ascertain  their  intentions  from  them 
selves,  if  possible,  Governor  Harrison  dis 
patched  messengers  to  invite  them  both  to 
Vincennes.  He  assured  them  that  any  claims 
they  might  have  to  the  lands  in  question,  were 
not  affected  by  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne ;  but 
that  if  they  would  come  to  Vincennes  and 
exhibit  their  pretensions,  and  they  should  be 
found  to  be  valid,  the  lands  would  be  given  up 
or  an  ample  compensation  made  for  them. 
Tecumthe  came,  without  his  brother — and 
though  the  governor,  having  no  confidence  in 
his  good  faith,  had  requested  him  not  to  bring 
with  him  more  than  thirty  warriors,  he  came 
with  four  hundred,  completely  armed,  The 

6* 


68  LIFE  OF 

governor  held  a  council  on  the  12th  of  Au 
gust,  1810,  at  which  Tec  urn  the  and  forty  of 
these  warriors  were  present.  The  governor 
was  attended  by  the  judges  of  the  supreme 
court,  several  officers  of  the  army,  Winne- 
mac,  a  friendly  chief,  and  a  few  unarmed 
citizens.  A  sergeant's  guard  of  twelve  men 
was  likewise  placed  near  him,  but  as  the  day 
was  exceeding  sultry,  and  they  were  exposed 
to  the  sun,  the  governor,  with  his  characteris 
tic  humanity,  directed  them  to  remove  to  a 
shaded  spot  at  some  distance. 

Tecumthe  addressed  this  council  with  a 
speech,  in  which  he  openly  avowed  the  de 
signs  of  himself  and  his  brother.  He  declared 
it  to  be  their  intention  to  form  a  coalition  of 
all  the  red  men,  to  prevent  the  whites  from 
extending  their  settlements  farther  west — and 
to  establish  the  principle  that  the  Indian  lands 
belonged  in  common  to  all  the  tribes,  and  could 
not  be  sold  without  their  united  consent.  He 
again  avowed  their  intention  to  put  to  death 
all  the  chiefs  who  had  signed  the  treaty  at 
Fort  Wayne,  yet,  with  singular  inconsistency, 
he  at  the  same  time  denied  all  intention  to 
make  war,  and  declared  that  all  those  who 
had  given  such  information  to  the  governor 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  69 

were  liars.  This  was  aimed  particularly  at 
Winnemac,  from  whom  the  governor  had 
received  a  timely  notice  of  the  designs  of  Te- 
cumthe  and  his  brother. 

Governor  Harrison  replied  to  Tecumthe  in 
a  mild  and  conciliatory  tone,  explaining  the 
treaty  at  Fort  Wayne,  and  clearly  proving 
that  all  the  chiefs  whose  tribes  had  any  claims 
upon  the  lands  ceded  at  this  time  to  the  United 
States,  were  present  at  the  treaty,  and  had 
voluntarily  signed  it — and  that  they  had  sold 
these  lands  for  an  annuity  which  they  consi 
dered  a  sufficient  compensation.  The  inter 
preter  of  the  Shawnees  explained  the  govern 
or's  speech  to  the  warriors  of  that  tribe,  but 
when  the  interpreter  to  the  Potawatomies  was 
about  to  begin,  Tecumthe  interrupted  him  in 
a  rude  and  insulting  manner,  using  the  most 
vehement  language"  and  the  most  violent  ges 
ticulation.  He  loudly  declared  that  all  the 
governor  had  said  was  false,  and  that  he  and 
the  United  States  had  cheated  and  imposed 
upon  the  Indians.  As  he  uttered  this,  his 
warriors  sprung  to  their  feet  and  began  to 
brandish  their  tomahawks  and  war-clubs,  their 
eyes  all  fiercely  turned  upon  the  governor. 
Harrison  rose  immediately  and  drew  his 


70  LIFE  OF 

sword.  The  friendly  chief  Winnemac  cocked 
a  pistol  with  which  he  was  armed,  and  some 
of  the  officers  in  attendance  drew  their  wea 
pons  and  stood  on  the  defensive.  Every  one 
momentarily  expected  to  hear  the  yell  of  the 
savage  war-whoop,  and  to  encounter  the 
fierce  attack  of  their  excited  opponents.  At 
this  critical  time  not  a  word  was  spokon,  until 
the  guard  hastily  approached,  and  were  about 
to  fire  on  the  Indians,  when  the  governor, 
with  singular  coolness  and  presence  of  mind, 
restrained  them.  He  then  turned  to  Tecum- 
the,  and  calmly  but  authoritatively  told  him 
that  "  he  was  a  bad  man — that  he  would  hold 
no  further  communication  with  him — and  that 
he  must  now  return  to  his  camp,  and  take  his 
departure  from  the  settlements  without  delay.'* 
The  council  was  immediately  broken  up,  and 
Tecumthe  and  his  warriors,  awed  by  the 
calmness  and  intrepidity  of  the  governor, 
withdrew  in  silence. 

The  next  morning,  Tecumthe,  finding  that 
he  had  to  deal  with  a  man  of  firmness  and 
undaunted  bravery,  whom  he  could  neither 
intimidate  by  his  audacious  violence  nor  dis 
concert  by  his  cunning  manoeuvres,  solicited 
another  interview  with  the  governor,  and 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  71 

apologized  for  the  improprieties  he  had  com 
mitted  at  the  council  the  day  before. 

At  this  interview,  the  governor  expostulated 
with  Tecumthe  on  the  frequent  murders  com 
mitted  by  the  Indians  at  Tippecanoe,  on  their 
constant  depredations,  their  refusal  to  give 
any  satisfaction  for  their  repeated  aggressions, 
and  their  daily  accumulation  of  force  at  the 
Prophet's  town  for  the  avowed  purpose  of 
obliging  the  United  States  to  give  up  lands 
which  they  had  fairly  purchased  of  the  right 
ful  owners.  In  his  reply,  Tecumthe  denied 
that  he  had  taken  the  murderers  under  his 
protection ;  but  admitted  his  design  of  forming 
a  grand  confederacy  of  all  the  nations  and 
tribes  of  Indians  upon  the  continent,  for  the 
purpose  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  encroach 
ments  of  the  white  people.  He  said  that  "  the 
policy  which  the  United  States  pursued,  of 
purchasing  their  lands  from  the  Indians,  he 
viewed  as  a  mighty  water,  ready  to  overflow 
his  people ;  and  that  the  confederacy  which 
he  was  forming  among  the  tribes,  to  prevent 
any  individual  tribe  from  selling  their  lands 
without  the  consent  of  the  others,  was  the  dam 
he  was  erecting  to  resist  this  mighty  water." 
And  he  added,  "your  great  father  may  sit 


72  LIFE  OF 

over  the  mountains  and  drink  his  wine,  but  if 
he  continues  this  policy,  you  and  I  will  have 
to  fight  it  out."  He  admitted  that  he  was 
then  on  his  way  to  the  Creek  nation,  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  them  over  to  his  measures ; 
and  he  actually  did,  two  days  afterwards,  set 
out  on  this  journey  with  twelve  or  fifteen 
warriors. 

Still  anxious  to  conciliate  this  haughty 
savage,  the  governor  afterwards  paid  him  a 
visit  at  his  own  camp,  with  no  other  attend 
ant  than  the  interpreter.  Tecumthe  received 
him  with  courtesy  and  much  attention ;  Har 
rison's  uniform  kindness  and  inflexible  firm 
ness  having  won  the  respect  of  the  rude 
warrior :  but  he  still  persisted  in  adhering  to 
the  declarations  he  had  made  at  the  council 
on  the  preceding  day. 

Meanwhile,  his  brother  was  using  every 
exertion  to  advance  their  mutual  object.  His 
reputation  as  a  prophet  still  continued  to  in 
crease,  and  his  cunning  pretensions  to  super 
natural  powers  gave  him  so  strong  a  hold  on 
the  superstitions  of  his  red  brethren  as  to 
enable  him  not  only  to  attach  his  own  people 
warmly  to  his  interests,  but  greatly  to  extend 
Lls  influence  over  the  neighbouring  tribes. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  73 

Governor  Harrison  alludes  to  this  in  his  mes 
sage  to  the  Legislature  of  Indiana,  in  the 
ensuing  winter  of  1810,  from  which  the  fol 
lowing  is  an  extract : 

"  Presenting  as  we  do,"  said  Governor  Har 
rison,  "  a  very  extended  frontier  to  numerous 
and  warlike  tribes  of  the  aborigines,  the  state 
of  our  re)  ,  ans  with  them  must  always  form 
an  important  and  interesting  feature  in  our 
local  politics.  It  is  with  regret  that  I  have  to 
inform  you,  that  the  harmony  and  good  under 
standing  which  it  is  so  much  our  interest  to 
cultivate  with  these  our  neighbours,  have,  for 
some  time  past,  experienced  a  considerable 
interruption,  and  that  we  have  indeed  been 
threatened  with  hostilities,  by  a  combination 
formed  under  the  auspices  of  a  bold  adven 
turer,  who  pretended  to  act  under  the  imme 
diate  inspiration  of  the  Deity.  His  character 
as  a  prophet  would  not,  however,  have  given 
him  any  dangerous  influence,  if  he  had  not 
been  assisted  by  the  intrigues  and  advice  of 
foreign  agents,  and  other  disaffected  persons, 
who  have  for  years  omitted  no  opportunity  of 
counteracting  the  measures  of  the  government 
with  regard  to  the  Indians,  and  filling  their 
naturally  jealous  minds  with  suspicions  of  the 


74  LIFE  OF 

justice  and  integrity  of  our  views  towards 
them." 

"  The  circumstance  which  was  laid  hold  of 
to  encourage  disaffection,  on  a  late  occasion, 
was  the  treaty  made  by  me  at  Fort  Wayne 
in  the  autumn  of  the  last  year.  Amongst  the 
difficulties  which  were  to  be  encountered,  to  ' 
obtain  those  extinguishments  of  title  which 
have  proved  so  beneficial  to  the  treasury 
of  the  United  States,  and  so  necessary,  as 
the  means  of  increasing  the  population  of  the 
territory,  the  most  formidable  was  that  of 
ascertaining  the  tribes  which  were  to  be  ad 
mitted  as  parties  to  the  treaties.  The  object 
was  accordingly  discussed  in  a  long  corres 
pondence  between  the  government  and  myself, 
and  the  principles  which  were  finally  adopted, 
were  made  as  liberal  towards  the  Indians  as 
a  due  regard  to  the  interests  of  the  United 
States  would  permit.  Of  the  tribes  which 
had  formed  the  confederacy  in  the  war  which 
terminated  by  the  peace  of  Greene ville,  some 
were  residents  upon  the  lands  which  were  in 
the  possession  of  their  forefathers,  at  the  time 
that  the  first  settlements  were  made  in  Ame 
rica  by  white  people,  whilst  others  were  emi 
grants  from  distant  parts  of  the  country,  and 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  75 

had  no  other  claim  to  the  tracts  they  occu 
pied,  than  what  a  few  years'  residence,  by 
the  tacit  consent  of  the  real  owners,  could 
give.  Upon  common  and  general  principles, 
the  transfer  of  the  title  of  the  former  descrip 
tion  would  have  been  sufficient  to  vest  in  the 
purchaser  the  legal  right  to  lands  so  situated. 
But  in  all  its  transactions  with  the  Indians, 
our  government  have  not  been  content  with 
doing  that  which  was  just  only.  Its  savage 
neighbours  have,  on  all  occasions,  experienced 
its  liberality  and  benevolence.  Upon  this 
principle,  in  several  of  the  treaties  which  have 
been  made,  several  tribes  have  been  admitted 
to  a  participation  of  their  benefits,  who  had  no 
title  to  the  land  ceded,  merely  because  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  hunt  upon,  and  de 
rive  part  of  their  support  from  them.  For 
this  reason,  and  to  prevent  the  Miamies,  who 
were  the  real  owners  of  the  land,  from  expe 
riencing  any  ill  effects  from  their  resentment, 
the  Delawares,  Potawatomies  and  Kickapoos 
were  made  parties  to  the  late  treaty  at  Fort 
Wayne.  No  other  tribe  was  admitted,  be 
cause  it  never  had  been  suggested  that  any 
other  could  plead  even  the  title  of  use  or  oc- 
7 


76  LIFE  OF 

cupancy  of  the  lands,  which  at  that  time  were 
conveyed  to  the  United  States. 

"It  was  not  until  eight  months  after  the 
.conclusion  of  the  treaty,  and  after  his  design 
of  forming  a  hostile  combination  against  the. 
United  States  had  been  discovered  and  de 
feated,  that  the  pretensions  of  the  prophet,  • 
with  regard  to  the  lands  in  question,  were 
made  known.  A  furious  clamour  was  then 
raised  by  the  foreign  agents  among  us,  and 
other  disaffected  persons,  against  the  policy 
which  had  excluded  from  the  treaty  this  great 
and  influential  character  as  he  is  termed  ;  and 
the  doing  so,  expressly  attributed  to  personal 
ill-will  on  the  part  of  the  negotiator.  No  such 
ill-will  did  in  fact  exist.  I  accuse  myself, 
indeed,  of  an  error,  in  the  patronage  and 
support  which  I  afforded  him  upon  his  first 
arrival  on  the  Wabash,  before  his  hostility  to 
the  United  States  had  been  developed  ;  but 
on  no  principle  of  propriety  or  policy  could 
he  have  been  made  a  party  to  the  treaty. 
The  personage  called  the  prophet  is  not  a 
chief  of  the  tribe  to  which  he  belongs,  but  an  < 
outcast  from  it,  rejected  and  hated  by  the  real 
chiefs,  the  principal  of  whom  was  present  at 
the  treaty,  and  not  only  disclaimed  on  the 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  77 

part  of  his  tribe  any  title  to  the  lands  ceded, 
but  used  his  personal  influence  with  the  chiefs 
of  the  other  tribes  to  effect  the  cession. 

"  As  soon  as  I  was  informed  that  his  dis 
satisfaction  at  the  treaty  was  assigned  as  the 
cause  of  the  hostile  attitude  which  the  prophet 
had  assumed,  I  sent  to  inform  him  that  what 
ever  claims  he  might  have  to  the  lands  which 
had  been  purchased  for  the  United  States, 
were  not  in  the  least  affected  by  that  pur 
chase  ;  that  he  might  come  forward  and  ex 
hibit  his  pretensions,  and  if  they  were  really 
found  to  be  just  or  equitable,  the  lands  would 
be  restored,  or  an  ample  equivalent  given  for 
them.  His  brother  \vas  deputed,  and  sent  to 
me  for  that  purpose ;  but  far  from  being  able 
to  show  any  colour  of  claim,  either  for  him 
self  or  any  of  his  followers,  his  objections  to 
the  treaty  were  confined  to  the  assertion,  that 
all  the  lands  upon  the  continent  were  the 
common  property  of  all  the  tribes,  and  that 
no  sale  of  any  part  of  it  could  be  valid,  with 
out  the  consent  of  all.  A  proposition  so  ex 
tremely  absurd,  and  which  would  for  ever 
prevent  any  further  purchase  of  lands  by  the 
United  States,  could  receive  no  countenance 
from  any  friend  of  his  country.  He  had, 


78  LIFE  OF 

however,  the  insolence  to  declare,  that  by  the 
acknowledgment  of  that  principle  alone  could  ' 
the  effects  of  his  resentment  be  avoided." 

*     *     *      "I    have   been   thus   particular, 
gentlemen,  in  giving   you   information  upon  , 
the  present  state  of  affairs  with  the  neighbour 
ing  Indians,  that  you  may  have   them  fully   • 
before  you,  in  case  you  should  think  proper 
to   make  them  in  any  shape  the  subject  of 
your  deliberations." 

In  the  course  of  this  address,  the  whole  of 
which  we  regret  that  the  limited  size  of  our 
volume  will  not  permit  us  to  quote,  Governor 
Harrison  alluded  to  some  idle  complaints  and 
malicious  calumnies  which  had  been  spread 
abroad  by  certain  disaffected  persons  within 
the  Territory — the  totally  unfounded  nature  of 
which  was  soon  made  apparent  in  a  court  of 
justice.  There  are  in  every  community,  indi 
viduals  who  are  incapable  of  appreciating  or 
are  unwilling  to  admit  the  existence  of  disin 
terested  and  patriotic  motives  of  action — and 
who,  if  they  are  too  dull  or  perverse  to  com 
prehend  the  wise  policy  and  strict  justice  of 
any  public  measure,  are  inclined  by  the  whis 
perings  of  their  own  hearts  to  attribute  that 
•measure  to  the  promptings  of  base  or  unwor- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  79 

thy  motives.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise, 
therefore,  that  some  such  were  found  in  the 
territory  over  which  Governor  Harrison  pre 
sided.  Among  these  was  one  M'Iritosh,  who 
openly  asserted  that  Governor  Harrison  had 
cheated  the  Indians  in  the  treaty  at  Fort 
Wayne,  by  which  the  United  States  had  the 
year  before  obtained  so  large  a  cession  of  lands 
from  the  Miamies,  Delawares,  Potawatomies 
and  Kickapoos.  As  this  calumny  was  indus 
triously  circulated,  Governor  Harrison  thought 
it  due  both  to  his  own  character  and  to  that 
of  the  general  government  that  the  charge 
should  be  fully  and  judicially  investigated, 
while  the  subject  was  still  fresh  and  the  testi 
mony  in  relation  to  the  treaty  at  Fort  Wayne 
was  still  within  reach.  An  action  for  slander 
was  therefore  brought  against  M'Intosh,  in  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  Territory,  and  every 
possible  measure  was  adopted  to  obtain  a  fair 
and  an  impartial  decision.  To  insure  this,  two 
of  the  judges  left  the  bench  during  the  trial — 
one  being  a  friend  of  the  governor,  and  the 
other  of  the  defendant — leaving  the  case  to  be 
adjudicated  J?y  the  third  judge,  who  had  but 
recently  arrived  in  the  Territory  and  was  but 
slightly  acquainted  with  either  of  the  parties. 


80  LIFE  OF 

All  the  facts  connected  with  the  negotiation 
of  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne  were  critically' 
inquired  into,  and  the  defendant  was  allowed 
every  opportunity  to  examine  all  the  persons 
engaged  in  the  Indian  Department,  or  who 
were  acquainted  with  the  circumstances  at 
tendant  upon  the  making  of  this  treaty.  But ' 
the  more  the  subject  was  inquired  into,  the 
more  clearly  did  it  manifest  the  strict  honour 
and  integrity  of  Governor  Harrison ;  until,  at 
length,  convinced  of  this,  the  counsel  of  M'ln- 
tosh  abandoned  all  plea  of  justification,  and 
asked  only  for  a  mitigation  of  damages.  The 
jury  returned  a  verdict  of  four  thousand  dol 
lars  against  the  defendant — a  heavy  verdict  in 
a  new  country,  where  money  is  always  scarce, 
and  damages  given  by  juries  in  such  cases  are 
generally  very  small.  A  large  amount  of  the 
defendant's  property  was  sold  the  following 
year  to  satisfy  this  judgment,  and  was  bought 
in  by  the  agent  of  the  governor,  while  he  him 
self  was  absent  in  command  of  the  army. 
Two-thirds  of  this  property  Governor  Harrison 
afterwards  returned  to  M'Intosh,  and  the  re 
mainder  he  distributed  among  the  orphan  chil 
dren  of  some  of  his  gallant  fellow-citizens  who 
fell  in  battle  during  the  last  war  /  Such  acts 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON  81 

need  no  comment — while  magnanimity,  disin 
terestedness,  t>nd  generosity  are  prized  among 
men,  the  tongue  of  praise  even  can  scarcely 
do  them  justice. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Commencement  of  hostilities. — Harrison  assembles  the 
Militia  and  Volunteers. — He  organizes  his  forces. — 
March  to  the  Prophet's  town.  —  Battle  of  Tippeca- 
noe. — Its  results. 

IN  the  following  year,  1811,  the  Indians  pro 
ceeded  to  more  open  violence,  and  assumed 
an  attitude  of  more  decided  hostility.  It  is 
believed  that  Tecumthe,  on  his  departure  to 
visit  the  Southern  Indians,  left  positive  instruc 
tions  with  his  brother  to  avoid  coming  to  ex 
tremities  with  the  white  people,  and  to  restrain 
his  followers  from  committing  depredations 
which  might  lead  to  the  commencement  of 
hostilities  before  his  plans  were  fully  matured. 
But  the  Prophet  wanted  both  the  inclination 
and  the  authority  necessary  to  carry  these  in 
structions  into  effect.  Aggressions  of  the  most 
atrocious  nature  were  audaciously  committed 
by  the  Indians  within  the  limits  of  the  Terri- 


82  LIFE  OF 

tory,  and  every  day  brought  fresh  accounts  of 
the  perpetration  of  those  ruthless  deeds  of  de- 
predation  and  murder  which  always  give  the 
first  intimation  of  the  approach  of  a  savage 
war. 

From  motives  of  humanity  as  well  as  poli 
cy,  Governor  Harrison  had  always  endeavour- 
ed  to  avoid  a  war  with  the  Indians ;  but  when 
this  result  became  unavoidable,  he  promptly 
adopted  the  most  energetic  measures  within 
his  limited  resources  to  place  the  Territory  in 
a  posture  of  defence. 

The  people  upon  the  frontier  had  now  be 
come  exceedingly  alarmed.  The  citizens  of 
Vincennes  were  much  excited,  and  a  large 
public  meeting  was  there  held,  at  w^hich  seve 
ral  resolutions  were  passed  indicating  their 
sense  of  the  danger  to  which  they  were  ex 
posed,  and  warmly  approving  the  measures 
which  had  been  taken  by  the  governor  for 
their  defence.  These  resolutions,  with  a  strong 
remonstrance  against  the  permitting  this  horde 
of  savages  to  continue  their  depredations,  were 
forwarded  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
They  produced  the  desired  effect — and  the  4th 
regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel  Boyd,  which 
was  then  at  Pittsburgh,  was  ordered  by  Mr. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  83 

Madison  to  repair  without  delay  to  Vincennes, 
and  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Go 
vernor  Harrison.  Instructions  were  likewise 
sent  to  the  governor  to  march  with  an  armed 
force  to  the  Prophet's  town — but  he  was  re 
quired  to  avoid  hostilities  "  of  any  kind,  or  to 
any  degree  not  absolutely  necessary." 

The  governor  immediately  assembled  five 
hundred  of  the  militia  and  volunteers  of  Indi 
ana.  These,  with  the  regiment  of  United 
States'  infantry,  consisting  of  about  three  hun 
dred  and  fifty  men,  and  a  small  but  gallant 
body  of  volunteers  from  Kentucky,  constituted 
his  whole  available  force — amounting  in  all  to 
scarcely  nine  hundred  effective  men.  These 
troops  were  collected  at  Fort  Harrison,  a  post 
on  the  Wabash,  about  sixty  miles  above  Vin 
cennes.  And  as  soon  as  his  new  soldiers  were 
properly  disciplined,  and  he  had  trained  both 
the  regulars  and  the  militia  to  the  Indian  mode 
of  warfare,  he  took  up  his  line  of  march  for 
the  Prophet's  town. 

In  the  mean  time,  in  conformity  to  his  in 
structions  from  the  President,  the  governor 
had  endeavoured,  by  the  intervention  of  the 
Delaware  and  Miami  chiefs  who  continued 
friendly,  to  open  an  amicable  negotiation  with 


84  LIFE  OF 

the  Indians,  and  induce  them  to  give  up  the 
murderers,  who  were  known  to  be  at  Tippe-' 
canoe,  and  to  restore  the  stolen  horses,  that 
were  still  in  the  possession  of  his  followers. 
But  his  messengers  of  peace  were  received 
and  treated  with  great  insolence,  and  the  very 
reasonable  demands  made  by  them  were  re-, 
jected  with  disdain  by  the  Prophet  and  his 
council.  To  put  an  end  to  all  hopes  of  ac 
commodation,  a  small  war-party  wras  detached 
for  the  purpose  of  commencing  hostilities. 
Finding  no  stragglers  about  the  camp,  they 
fired  upon  one  of  the  sentinels,  and  wounded 
him  severely.  The  Delaware  chiefs  informed 
the  governor  of  the  object  of  this  party,  and 
that  it  was  now  in  vain  to  expect  that  any 
thing  but  force  could  obtain  either  satisfaction 
for  the  injuries  done,  or  security  for  the  future. 
He  learned  also  from  the  same  source,  that  the 
strength  of  the  Prophet  was  daily  increasing 
by  the  ardent  and  giddy  young  men  from 
every  tribe,  and  particularly  from  the  tribes 
on  and  beyond  the  Illinois  river. 

In  this  state  of  things,  the  governor  marched 
from  Fort  Harrison  on  the  28th  of  October, 
1811.  Profiting  by  his  own  early  experience, 
and  the  remembered  example  of  his  old  friend 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  85 

and  commander,  General  Wayne,  his  march 
through  a  singularly  wild  and  exposed  region 
to  Tippecanoe,  was  conducted  with  great  skill 
and  prudence.  The  country  through  which 
the  army  passed  was  occasionally  open,  beau 
tiful  prairie,  intersected  by  thick  woods,  deep 
creeks,  and  ravines.  The  cavalry  and  mount 
ed  riflemen,  of  the  latter  of  which  there  were 
two  companies,  covered  the  advance,  the 
flanks,  and  the  rear,  and  were  made  to  ex 
change  positions  with  each  other,  as  the  ground 
varied ;  so  as  always  to  keep  them  in  the  situ 
ation  best  suited  to  the  mode  of  fighting  which 
they  respectively  practised.  The  Indians  being 
adroit  in  the  art  of  ambuscading,  every  pre 
caution  was  taken  to  guard  against  surprise, 
and  prevent  the  army  from  being  attacked  in 
a  disadvantageous  position.  To  the  north  of 
the  Wabash,  the  prairies  are  very  extensive, 
affording  few  favourable  situations  for  the  kind 
of  warfare  peculiar  to  the  savages.  To  de 
ceive  the  enemy,  the  governor  caused  the  route 
to  be  reconnoitred  on  the  south  side,  and  a 
wagon-road  laid  out ;  and .  having  advanced 
upon  it  a  short  distance,  he  suddenly  changed 
his  direction,  and  gained  the  right  bank  of  the 


86  LIFE  OF 

river,  by  crossing  it  above  the  mouth  of  Ra 
coon  creek.  In  passing  the  large  prairies,  thd 
army  was  frequently  halted,  and  made  collec 
tively  to  perform  the  evolutions  which  they 
had  been  taught  in  smaller  bodies,  during  their 
stay  at  Fort  Harrison;  at  which  place  the 
governor  had  manoeuvred  the  relieving  guards" 
every  day  in  person,  and  had  required  the  at 
tendance  of  the  field-officers  on  those  occa 
sions. 

As  the  Indian  scouts  had  returned  to  their 
main  body  and  given  the  information  that  our 
troops  were  making  a  road  along  the  southern 
banks  of  the  Wabash,  they  were  wholly  un 
prepared  to  meet  them  on  the  north  side  of 
the  river,  or  to  oppose  their  passage  of  Pine 
Creek,  at  a  very  dangerous  ford,  where  a  few 
men  might  have  successfully  resisted  the  whole 
army.  The  appearance  of  this  creek  forms  a 
singular  exception  to  the  other  water-courses 
©f  this  country.  It  runs,  for  the  distance  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles  above  its  mouth,  be 
tween  immense  cliffs  of  rock,  upon  whose 
summits  are  found  considerable  quantities  of 
pine  and  red  cedar,  the  former  of  which  is 
rare,  and  the  latter  is  nowhere  else  to  be 
found  near  the  Wabash.  The  ordinary  cross- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  87 

ing-place  was  represented  by  the  guides  to 
be  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impassable  for 
wagons ;  and  this  was  no  doubt  the  spot 
where  the  Indians  would  have  designed  to 
make  their  attack,  had  they  been  prepared  to 
meet  the  army  here,  instead  of  having  been 
induced  by  the  governor's  feigned  advance  to 
gather  their  forces  on  the  southern  side  of  the 
river.  This  place  had  already  been  twice 
selected  by  the  Indians  for  an  ambush — once, 
in  the  year  1780,  when  General  Clarke  un 
dertook  a  campaign  against  the  Indians  on 
the  Wabash ;  and  a  second  time,  in  the  year 
1790,  when  Colonel  Hamtramack  penetrated 
with  a  small  force  as  high  as  the  Vermilion, 
to  make  a  diversion  in  favour  of  General 
Harmar's  expedition  to  the  Miami  of  the 
Lake. 

The  governor  had  no  intention  of  encoun 
tering  the  enemy  in  a  place  like  this.  He 
accordingly,  in  the  course  of  the  night  pre 
ceding  his  approach  to  the  creek,  dispatched 
Captain  Prince  of  the  Indiana  militia,  with  an 
escort  of  forty  men,  to  reconnoitre  the  creek 
some  miles  above,  and  endeavour  to  find  a 
better  fording.  On  his  return,  the  following 
morning,  this  officer  met  the  army  in  its  ad- 
8 


88  LIFE  OF 

vance,  and  informed  the  governor,  that  at  the 
distance  of  six  or  eight  miles,  he  had  found  a  • 
trace  used  by  the  Illinois  Indians  in  travelling 
to  Tippecanoe,  which  presented  an  excellent 
ford,  at  a  place  where  the  prairie  skirted  the 
creek.  This  prairie,  which  they  were  now 
crossing,  excited  the  admiration  and  astonish-  . 
ment  of  the  officers  and  soldiers,  who  had 
never  been  on  the  north-west  side  of  the  Wa- 
bash.  To  the  north  and  west  the  prospect 
was  unbounded.  From  the  highest  eminence 
no  limit  was  to  be  seen,  and  the  guides  as 
serted  that  the  prairie  extended  to  the  Illinois 
river. 

On  the  evening  of  the  5th  of  November,  the 
army  encamped  at  the  distance  of  nine  or  ten 
miles  from  the  Prophet's  town.  It  was  ascer 
tained  that  the  approach  of  the  army  had  been 
discovered  before  it  crossed  Pine  creek.  The 
traces  of  reconnoitring  parties  were  very 
often  seen,  but  no  Indians  were  discovered 
until  the  following  day,  when  the  troops  ar 
rived  within  five  or  six  miles  of  the  town. 
The  interpreters  were  then  placed  with  the 
advanced  guard,  to  endeavour  to  open  a  com 
munication  with  them.  The  Indians,  how 
ever,  would  return  no  answer  to  the  invita- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  89 

tions  that  were  made  for  that  purpose,  but 
continued  to  insult  our  troops  by  their  ges 
tures.  Within  about  three  miles  of  the  town, 
the  ground  became  broken  by  ravines,  and 
covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  trees.  The 
utmost  precaution  became  necessary,  and 
every  difficult  pass  was  examined  by  the 
mounted  riflemen,  before  the  army  was  per 
mitted  to  enter  it.  The  ground  being  unfit 
for  the  operation  of  the  squadron  of  dragoons, 
they  were  thrown  in  the  rear. 

Within  about  two  miles  of  the  town,  the 
path  descended  a  steep  hill,  at  the  bottom  of 
which  was  a  small  creek  running  through  a 
narrow,  wet  prairie,  and  beyond  this  was  a  level 
plain  partially  covered  with  oak  timber,  and 
without  underbrush.  No  place  could  be  bet 
ter  fitted  for  the  savages  to  attack  the  army 
with  a  prospect  of  success ;  and  the  governor 
apprehended  that  the  moment  the  troops  de 
scended  into  the  hollow,  they  would  be  as 
sailed.  A  disposition  was  therefore  made  of 
the  infantry,  to  receive  the  enemy  on  the  left 
and  rear.  A  company  of  mounted  riflemen 
was  advanced  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  left  flank  to  check  the  approach  of  the 
Indians;  and  the  other  companies  were  or- 


90  LIFE  OF 

dered  to  turn  the  enemy's  flanks,  should  they 
attack  from  that  direction.  The  dragoons 
were  ordered  to  move  rapidly  from  the  rear 
and  occupy  the  plain  in  advance  of  the  creek, 
to  cover  the  crossing  of  the  army  from  an 
attack  in  front.  In  this  order  the  troops  were 
passed  over ;  the  dragoons  were  made  to  ad 
vance  to  give  room  to  the  infantry,  and  the 
latter  having  crossed  the  creek,  were  formed 
to  receive  the  enemy  in  front  in  one  line,  with 
a  reserve  of  three  companies;  the  dragoons 
flanked  by  mounted  riflemen  forming  the  first 
line. 

During  all  this  time,  Indians  were  frequently 
seen  in  front  and  on  the  flanks.  The  inter 
preters  endeavoured  in  vain  to  bring  them  to 
a  parley.  Though  sufficiently  near  to  hear 
what  was  said  to  them,  they  would  return  no 
answer,  but  continued  by  gestures  to  menace 
and  insult  those  who  addressed  them.  Cap 
tain  Dubois,  of  Vincennes,  having  volunteered 
his  services,  was  dispatched  with  an  inter 
preter,  to  the  Prophet,  to  ascertain  whether 
he  would  now  comply  with  the  terms  that  had 
been  so  often  proposed  to  him.  The  army 
was  moved  slowly  after,  in  order  of  battle. 
In  a  few  moments,  a  messenger  came  from 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  91 

Captain  Dubois,  informing  the  governor  that 
the  Indians  were  near  him  in  considerable 
numbers,  that  they  would  make  no  reply  to 
the  interpreter,  but  that,  upon  his  advancing, 
they  actually_endeavoured  to  cut  him  off  from 
the  army.  /  Governor  Harrison,  after  this  last 
effort  to  open  a  negotiation,  which  sufficiently 
evinced  his  desire  for  an  amicable  accom 
modation,  could  no  longer  hesitate  to  treat 
the  Indians  as  open  enemies.  He  therefore 
recalled  Captain  Dubois,  and  moved  on  with 
a  determination  to  attack  them.  He  had 
not  proceeded  far,  however,  before  he  was 
met  by  a  deputation  of  the  Prophet's  counsel 
lors.  They  were  sent,  they  said,  to  ascertain 
why  the  army  was  advancing  upon  them ; 
they  stated  that  the  Prophet  wished,  if  possi 
ble,  to  avoid  hostilities;  that  he  had  sent  a 
pacific  message  by  the  Miami  and  Potawato- 
mie  chiefs,  who  had  come  to  him  on  the  part 
of  the  governor,  but  that  those  chiefs  had  un 
fortunately  gone  down  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Wabash.  A  suspension  of  hostilities  was 
accordingly  agreed  upon,  and  a  meeting  was 
to  take  place  the  next  day  between  the  gover 
nor  and  the  chiefs,  to  agree  upon  the  terms 
of  peace.  But 'Harrison  knew  too  well  the 
8* 


92  LIFE  OF 

treachery  of  his  artful  antagonist,  to  allow 
himself  to  be  deceived  by  his  specious  profes 
sions,  or  lulled  into  any  fancied  security. 

The  governor  marched  the  army  to  a  care 
fully  selected  position,  and  encamped  late  in 
the  evening,  on  a  dry  piece  of  ground,  which 
rose  about  ten  feet  above  the  level  of  a  marshy 
prairie  in  front  towards  the  town,  and  about 
twice  as  high  above  a  similar  prairie  in  the 
rear,  through  which,  near  the  bank,  ran  a 
small  stream,  fringed  with  willows  and  brush 
wood.  The  governor  posted  his  troops  in  a 
hollow  square.  Two  columns  of  infantry  oc 
cupied  the  front  and  rear ;  the  right  flank 
consisted  of  a  strong  body  of  infantry,  and  the 
left  flank  was  composed  of  three  companies 
of  mounted  riflemen.  The  cavalry  were  en 
camped  in  the  rear  of  the  front  rank  and  the 
left  flank.  The  encampment  was  not  more 
than  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  the  town. 

The  order  given  to  the  army,  in  the  event 
of  a  night  attack,  was  for  each  corps  to  main 
tain  its  ground  at  all  hazards  till  relieved. 
The  dragoons  were  directed,  in  such  a  case, 
to  parade  dismounted,  with  their  swords  on 
and  their  pistols  in  their  belts,  and  to  await 
for  orders.  But  the  army  in  general  had  no 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  93 

expectation  of  an  attack.  Many  of  the  men 
appeared  to  be  much  disappointed.  They 
were  anxious  for  a  contest  with  the  Indians, 
and  some  of  the  more  ardent  loudly  expressed 
their  regret  that  they  should  have  to  return 
home  without  a  battle. 

The  night  was  dark  and  cloudy.  The  moon 
rose  late,  and  soon  after  midnight  there  com 
menced  a  light  fall  of  drizzling  rain.  The 
whole  night  passed  without  the  slightest  inter 
ruption,  and  the  governor  and  his  aids  rose  at 
about  a  quarter  before  four,  and  were  sitting 
in  conversation  about  the  fire.  It  was  still 
dark,  as  the  light  of  the  moon  was  shadowed 
by  heavy  and  lowering  clouds.  At  this  mo 
ment  the  attack  commenced.  The  treacher 
ous  Indians  had  stealthily  crept  up  near  our 
sentries,  with  the  intention  of  rushing  upon 
them  and  killing  them  before  they  could  give 
the  alarm.  But  fortunately  one  of  the  sentries 
discovered  an  Indian  creeping  towards  him 
through  the  grass,  and  fired  at  him.  This 
was  immediately  followed  by  the  Indian  yell, 
and  a  furious  charge  upon  the  left  flank.  So 
sudden  and  fierce  was  this  onset,  that  the 
guard  stationed  in  that  quarter  gave  way,  at 
first,  to  their  savage  assailants  ;  but  notwith- 


94  LIFE  OF 

standing  the  severe  fire,  they  soon  rallied,  and 
maintained  their  ground  with  desperate  va 
lour.  The  camp-fires  were  immediately  ex 
tinguished,  as  their  light  only  served  to  expose 
our  men  to  the  deadly  aim  of  the  Indians. 
Upon  the  first  alarm,  the  governor  mounted 
his  horse,  and  proceeded  to  the  point  of  at 
tack;  and  finding  the  line  much  weakened 
there,  he  ordered  two  companies  from  the 
centre  and  rear  line  to  march  up  to  their  sup 
port.  About  this  time,  Colonel  Joseph  Ha 
milton  Daviess,  of  Kentucky,  informed  the 
governor  that  the  Indians,  concealed  behind 
some  trees  near  the  left  of  the  front  line,  were 
severely  annoying  the  troops  in  that  quarter, 
and  requested  permission  to  dislodge  them. 
In  attempting  this  hazardous  exploit,  he  charged 
the  Indians  on  foot,  but  unfortunately  the 
flash  of  his  pistol  exposed  him  to  the  deadly 
aim  of  the  savages,  and  he  was  shot  down 
almost  instantly,  pierced  with  three  balls, 
either  of  which  would  have  proved  fatal — and 
thus  fell  a  gallant  and  chivalric  spirit,  and  one 
of  the  most  daring  and  intrepid  officers  in  the 
whole  army.  His  men  repulsed  the  Indians 
several  times,  and  finally  succeeded  in  carry 
ing  him  into  the  camp.  Colonel  Isaac  White, 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  95 

of  Indiana,  another  brave  officer,  who  served 
as  a  volunteer  under  Colonel  Daviess,  like 
wise  fell  in  this  sanguinary  charge.  A  heavy 
fire  now  commenced  upon  the  right  flank, 
upon  a  part  of  the  rear  line,  and  upon  the 
entire  front  as  well  as  upon  the  left  flank. 
Finding  that  many  of  our  officers  were  killed 
by  the  severe  fire  on  the  right  flank,  and  that 
our  men  there  were  warmly  pressed,  the  go 
vernor  led  another  company  to  their  aid, 
which  enabled  them  to  defend  their  position 
during  the  rest  of  the  attack.  While  the  go 
vernor  was  leading  this  company  into  action, 
his  gallant  aid,  Colonel  Owen,  of  Kentucky,  a 
veteran  warrior  in  Indian  warfare,  was  killed 
at  his  side. 

The  battle  was  now  maintained  in  every  di 
rection  with  desperate  valour.  The  Indians 
advanced  and  retreated  by  a  rattling  noise 
made  with  deer-hoofs.  They  fought  with  great 
enthusiasm,  and  seemed  determined  to  con 
quer.  Our  men  maintained  the  fight  with  even 
more  than  their  accustomed  bravery,  and  the 
governor  was  unwearied  in  his  active  exer 
tions.  Amid  all  the  din  of  battle,  the  fierce 
shouting  of  our  troops,  and  the  fiend-like  yell- 
ings  of  the  savages,  his  clear  and  manly  voice 


96  LIFE  OF 

was  heard  encouraging  and  supporting  his  men 
where  they  were  most  severely  pressed,  and 
cheering  them  on  to  victory.  He  repeatedly, 
during  the  engagement,  changed  their  position 
to  meet  the  varying  attacks  of  his  desperate 
assailants,  and  in  all  these  evolutions  the  troops 
were  formed  and  led  into  action  by  himself. 

When  the  day  dawned,  the  left  flank,  the 
most  assailable  part  of  the  encampment,  was 
reinforced  by  four  companies  drawn  from  the 
rear  and  centre ;  the  right  flank  was  strength 
ened  by  two  companies ;  th^  dragoons  were 
mounted,  and,  supported  by  them,  a  simulta 
neous  charge  was  made  upon  the  enemy  on 
both  flanks.  And  so  vigorous  and  determined 
was  this  attack,  that  the  enemy  gave  way  on 
all  sides — the  Indians  on  the  left  flank  were 
driven  into  a  swamp  impenetrable  to  cavalry, 
while  those  on  the  right  were  put  to  flight  with 
great  loss,  and  this  severely-contested  victory 
was  at  last  gained  by  our  gallant  troops. 

The  Indians,  who  were  supposed  to  amount 
to  about  a  thousand  in  number,  were  com 
manded  in  this  battle  by  three  noted  warriors 
—  White  Loon,  Stone  E&ter,  and  Winnemac, 
a  Potawatomie  chief,  who  had  been  with  the 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  97 

governor  at  Fort  Harrison,  and  on  his  march, 
making  great  professions  of  friendship. 

More  than  two-thirds  of  our  army  were 
volunteers,  principally  from  Indiana.  Those 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  Vincennes  had  been 
trained  for  several  years  by  the  governor,  and 
had  become  very  expert  in  the  manoeuvres 
which  he  had  adopted  for  fighting  the  Indians. 
The  greater  part  of  the  territorial  troops  fol 
lowed  him  as  well  from  personal  attachment 
as  from  a  sense  of  duty.  Indeed,  a  greater 
degree  of  confidence  and  personal  attachment 
has  rarely  been  found  in  any  army  towards 
its  commander,  than  existed  in  this ;  nor  have 
there  been  many  battles  in  which  the  depend 
ence  of  the  army  on  its  leader  was  more  dis 
tinctly  felt.  During  the  whole  action  the  go 
vernor  was  constantly  on  the  lines,  and  always 
repaired  to  the  point  which  was  most  hardly 
pressed.  The  reinforcements  drawn  occa 
sionally  from  the  positions  most  secure,  were 
conducted  by  himself  and  formed  on  the  spot 
where  their  services  were  most  wanted.  The 
officers  and  men  who  believed  that  their  ulti 
mate  success  depended  on  his  safety,  warmly 
remonstrated  against  his  so  constantly  expos 
ing  himself;  but,  the  consciousness  of  his  per- 


98  LIFE  OF 

sonal  danger  never  interfered,  for  a  moment, 
with  the  unshrinking  performance  of  his  duty\ 
Upon  one  occasion,  as  he  was  approaching  an 
angle  of  the  line  against  which  the  Winneba- 
goes,  the  most  daring  of  the  Indians,  were  ad 
vancing  with  the  fiercest  yells,  one  of  his  offi 
cers  seized  the  bridle  of  his  horse  and  earnest 
ly  entreated  that  he  would  not  go  there ;  but 
the  governor,  freely  applying  his  spurs,  push 
ed  on  to  the  point  of  attack,  and  so  cheered 
the  troops  by  his  presence  that  they  received 
the  enemy  with  firmness  and  drove  them  back 
with  the  loss  of  several  of  their  chiefs. 

The  Prophet  took  no  active  part  in  this  bat 
tle,  but  during  the  whole  of  the  contest  he  re 
mained  secure  on  a  neighbouring  eminence, 
chanting  a  war-song.  He  had  promised  his 
warriors  that  "  the  Great  Spirit  would  turn 
the  powder  of  the  whites  into  ashes,  and  charm 
their  bullets,  so  that  they  should  drop  harm 
less,  and  that  the  red  men  should  have  light, 
while  their  enemies  were  involved  in  utter 
darkness."  Soon  after  the  battle  commenced, 
he  was  told  that  his  warriors  were  falling  in 
great  numbers,  but  he  bade  them  fight  on,  andx 
they  would  soon  see  the  fulfilment  of  all  his 
predictions. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  99 

The  day  of  the  battle  was  spent  in  taking 
care  of  tl\e  wounded,  and  in  paying  the  last 
mournful  rites  to  the  remains  of  those  who 
had  fallen.  On  the  next  day,  the  town,  which 
had  been  abandoned  by  the  Indians  in  great 
haste,  was  occupied  by  a  detachment  of  our 
troops ;  and  after  the  removal  of  every  thing 
of  value,  its  fortifications  were  destroyed  and 
the  town  itself  burnt.  On  the  same  day  the 
troops  were  put  in  motion  on  their  homeward 
march.  Every  wagon  was  required  to  trans 
port  the  wounded,  and  it  therefore  became 
requisite  to  destroy  all  the  unnecessary  bag 
gage  ;  in  doing  which,"  the  governor  set  the 
example,  by  ordering  all  his  own  camp  furni 
ture  to  be  broken  and  burnt  first.  They  pur 
sued  their  route  by  easy  marches,  till  they 
arrived,  without  interruption,  at  their  block 
house  on  the  Wabash;  where  the  wounded 
were  embarked  in  boats,  while  the  rest  of  the 
army  continued  their  march  by  land  to  Vin- 
cennes. 

The  battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  unquestiona 
bly  one  of  the  most  spirited  and  best-fought 
actions  recorded  in  the  annals  of  our  Indian 
wars.  The  numbers  and  weapons  on  either 
side  were  nearly  equal ;  and  the  Indians,  con- 
9 


100  LIFE  OF 

trary  to  their  usual  custom,  fought  hand  to 
hand,  and  with  the  most  desperate  ferocity ;' 
displaying  a  boldness  and  reckless  daring,  dur 
ing  the  engagement,  that  can  only  be  account 
ed  for  by  their  reliance  on  the  specious  pro 
mises  held  out  to  them  by  the  Prophet.  Every 
man  in  this  battle  encountered  his  share  of. 
danger,  but  no  one  was  in  more  personal  peril 
than  Governor  Harrison  himself — well  known 
to  many  of  the  Indians,  and  the  object  of  their 
peculiar  attack,  his  fearless  and  unshrinking 
exposure  makes  it  seem  almost  a  miracle  that 
he  should  have  escaped  unwounded.  In  re 
ferring  to  the  coolness  and  intrepidity  of  Go 
vernor  Harrison,  on  this  occasion,  we  cannot 
refrain  from  making  the  following  extracts 
from  a  journal  published  in  Keene,  New  Hamp 
shire,  by  Adam  Walker,  a  private  soldier,  who 
fought  in  this  battle,  and  who  could  have  had 
no  interested  motives  for  his  publication: — 
"  General  Harrison,"  he  says,  "  received  a  shot 
through  the  rim  of  his  hat.  In  the  heat  of  the 
action,  his  voice  was  frequently  heard,  and 
easily  distinguished,  giving  his  orders  in  the  , 
same  calm,  cool,  and  collected  manner,  with 
which  we  had  been  used  to  receive  them  on 
drill  or  parade.  The  confidence  of  the  troops 


WILLIAM  HENfiY  tfARRISON.  1Q1 

in  the  General  was  unlimited. '"  ,Tue  jjarno 
writer,  in  speaking  of  Harrison's  kindness  to 
the  soldiers,  and  his  influence  over  them,  re 
marks  : — "  He  appeared  not  disposed  to  detain 
any  man  against  his  inclination;  being  en 
dowed  by  nature  with  a  heart  as  humane  as 
brave,  in  his  frequent  addresses  to  the  militia, 
his  eloquence  was  formed  to  persuade;  appeals 
were  made  to  reason  as  well  as  feeling,  and 
never  were  they  made  in  vain." 

An  incident  that  occurred  at  this  time  ap 
pears  well  worthy  of  being  recorded.  The 
night  before  the  battle,  a  negro  man  belonging 
to  the  camp,  who  had  been  missing,  was  ar 
rested  under  the  governor's  marquee,  under 
very  suspicious  circumstances.  He  was  tried 
by  a  court-martial  for  desertion  to  the  enemy, 
and  for  an  attempt  to  assassinate  the  governor. 
Sufficient  evidence  was  found  to  convict  him, 
and  he  was  sentenced  to  death ;  yet  such  were 
the  humane  feelings  of  Harrison,  that  he  could 
not  induce  himself  to  sign  the  order  for  his 
execution.  As  the  criminal  attempt  had  been 
made  against  his  own  life,  he  felt  himself  pri 
vileged  to  exercise  his  benevolence  towards 
the  offender,  and  the  misguided  wretch  was 
suffered  to  escape  the  just  punishment  of  his 


102 

crimtf.  It;  weald  .haye,  J)een  more  in  accord 
ance* 'with  the  principles  of  strict  justice,  had 
the  law  been  permitted  to  take  its  own  course 
in  this  instance — but  the  circumstances  of  the 
case  were  very  peculiar,  and  Governor  Har 
rison's  conduct  evinced  a  magnanimity  and 
humanity  of  heart  rarely  equalled. 

The  importance  of  the  victory  at  Tippeca- 
noe  cannot  be  too  highly  estimated.  It  quelled 
the  haughty  spirit  of  the  discontented  and  hos 
tile  Indians,  and  defeated  the  plan,  which  they 
had  almost  matured,  of  attacking  and  destroy 
ing  our  scattered  border  settlements  in  detail. 
Had  we  lost  this  battle,  our  army  must  have 
been  annihilated — the  whole  extent  of  our  de 
fenceless  frontier  would  have  been  left  to  the 
mercy  of  sanguinary  and  unsparing  savages, 
and  the  consequent  loss  of  life,  and  destruction 
of  property,  would  have  been  almost  incalcu 
lable. 

President  Madison,  in  his  message  to  Con 
gress,  dated  December  18th,  1812,  makes  the 
following  honourable  mention  of  this  battle: — 
"  While  it  is  deeply  to  be  lamented,"  says  the 
President,  "that  so  many  valuable  lives  have 
been  lost  in  the  action  which  took  place  on  the 
9th  ult.,  Congress  will  see,  with  satisfaction, 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  103 

the  dauntless  spirit  and  fortitude  victoriously 
displayed  by  every  description  of  troops  en 
gaged,  as  well  as  the  collected  firmness  which 
distinguished  their  commander,  on  an  occasion 
requiring  the  utmost  exertion  of  valour  and 
discipline." 

The  Legislature  of  Kentucky,  at  their  en 
suing  session,  on  the  motion  of  John  J.  Crit- 
tenden,  now  a  distinguished  member  of  the 
United  States  Senate,  expressed  their  high 
sense  of  Governor  Harrison's  good  conduct 
on  this  occasion,  by  the  following  compliment 
ary  resolution : — 

"  Resolved,  That  in  the  late  campaign 
against  the  Indians,  on  the  Wabash,  Governor 
W.  H.  Harrison  has,  ill  the  opinion  of  this  le 
gislature,  behaved  like  a  hero,  a  patriot,  and  a 
general ;  and  that  for  his  cool,  deliberate,  skil 
ful,  and  gallant  conduct,  in  the  late  battle  of 
Tippecanoe,  he  deserves  the  warmest  thanks 
of  the  nation." 

This  high  encomium  came  from  those  whose 
friends  and  neighbours  had  participated  in  the 
late  campaign,  and  who  were  consequently 
familiar  with  all  its  details,  and  with  the  merits 
of  the  commander-in-chief. 

Tecumthe  was  not  present  at  the  battle  of 
9* 


104  LIFE  OF 

Tippecanoe ;  being  on  a  visit  to  the  southern 
tribes,  whom  he  was  endeavouring  to  unite 
in  his  combination  against  the  United  States. 
During  his  tour,  he  visited  the  Creeks,  Choc- 
taws,  and  Chickasaws,  and  then  crossed  the 
Mississippi  and  continued  his  course  north 
wardly  as  high  as  the  river  Demoins ;  and 
having  obtained,  it  is  believed,  the  promise  of 
assistance  from  all  the  tribes  in  that  direction, 
he  returned  to  the  Wabash  by  land,  across 
the  heads  of  the  Illinois  river.  In  his  absence, 
his  affairs  had  sustained  a  sad  reverse. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Declaration  of  War  with  Great  Britain. — Measures 
adopted  to  defend  our  North-western  frontier. — 
Governor  Harrison  is  appointed  Major  General  in  the 
Kentucky  militia. — He  receives  the  commission  of 
Brigadier  General  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States. — He  is  made  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
North-western  army. — His  extensive  powers  and  ar 
duous  duties.— Plan  of  the  Campaign. — Massacre 
at  the  River  Raisin. — Expedition  against  the  Indian 
towns. 

WAR  was  declared  against  Great  Britain  on 
the  18th  of  June,  1812.  Prior  to  this  event, 
British  agents  had,  for  a  long  time,  been  tarn- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  105 

pering  with  the  discontented  Indians  within 
our  territory,  and  had  bribed  them  with  pre 
sents,  and  furnished  them  with  firearms,  to 
induce  them  to  renew  their  hostilities  against 
our  country.  The  crafty  and  daring  Tecum- 
the,  too,  was  once  more  in  the  field.  Urged 
on  by  his  savage  eloquence,  by  their  own 
natural  love  for  war  and  plunder,  and  by  the 
atrocious  intrigues  of  foreign  agents,  the 
north-western  Indians  again  raised  the  war- 
whoop,  and  commenced  their  barbarous  sys 
tem  of  warfare.  Their  cruel  murders  and 
depredations  became  of  frequent  occurrence, 
and  the  wailings  of  bereaved  mothers  and  or 
phans,  and  the  bitter  complaints  of  those  who 
had  escaped  from  the  conflagration  of  their 
plundered  homes,  excited  the  commiseration 
of  our  hardy  borderers,  and  roused  a  general 
feeling  of  indignation.  Such  was  the  state 
of  excitement  in  the  frontier  settlements  in  the 
summer  of  1812. 

Immediately  after  the  declaration  of  war, 
our  western  governors  promptly  adopted 
every  measure  in  their  power,  for  the  defence 
of  their  respective  States  and  Territories. 
But  conscious  of  the  great  abilities  and  expe 
rience  of  Harrison,  they  placed  the  utmost 


106  LIFE  OF 

reliance  on  his  counsels,  and  looked  to  him  as 
the  leader,  under  whom  they  might  hope  for 
success  against  the  common  enemy.  He 
aided  Governor  Edwards  in  placing  the  fron 
tier  of  Illinois  in  a  posture  of  defence,  and 
soon  after,  was  invited  by  Governor  Scott 
of  Kentucky,  a  distinguished  revolutionary 
officer,  to  a  conference  in  relation  to  the 
Kentucky  troops,  which  had  been  raised  for 
the  defence  of  the  frontier.  He  accepted  this 
invitation,  and  met  Governor  Scott  at  Frank 
fort  ;  where  he  was  received  with  the  accla 
mations  of  the  people,  and  with  the  highest 
civil  and  military  honours.  These  public 
marks  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  Harri 
son  was  held  by  the  people,  were  shortly 
after  followed  by  proofs  still  more  flattering  of 
their  confidence  in  his  patriotism,  his  abilities, 
and  his  military  skill. 

Governor  Scott  had  levied  an  armed  force 
of  more  than  five  thousand  militia  and  volun 
teers,  commanded  by  some  of  the  ablest  men 
and  most  experienced  officers  in  the  State. 
Two  thousand  of  these  troops  were  ordered 
for  immediate  service;  and  they  had  no 
sooner  learned  that  they  were  destined  to 
march  to  the  aid  of  their  fellow-countrymen 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  107 

on  the  frontier,  than  they  at  once  unani 
mously  expressed  the  most  earnest  desire  to 
be  placed  under  the  command  of  Governor 
Harrison.  This  feeling  was  responded  to  by 
the  wishes  of  the  whole  mass  of  the  people 
throughout  the  State.  The  laws  of  Ken- 

o 

tucky,  however,  would  not  permit  any  other 
than  a  citizen  to  hold  a  command  in  the  State 
militia.  In  this  dilemma,  Governor  Scott 
consulted  with  the  venerable  Shelby,  (the 
governor  elect),  the  Hon.  Henry  Clay,  and 
other  distinguished  citizens  of  the  state,  and 
by  their  unanimous  advice  he  gave  Harrison 
a  brevet  commission  of  major  general  in  the 
Kentucky  militia,  with  express  authority  to 
take  command  of  the  gallant  troops,  about  to 
march  to  the  frontier.  This  was  a  bold  and 
unprecedented  measure,  but  one  that  gave 
unbounded  satisfaction  to  both  soldiers  and 
citizens,  and  one  fully  warranted  by  the  pe 
culiar  exigencies  of  the  case.  These  facts 
speak  volumes  in  favour  of  the  remarkable 
popularity  and  great  military  reputation  which 
Governor  Harrison  enjoyed  in  a  population 
of  brave  and  chivalric  people,  boasting  an  un 
usual  proportion  of  highly-gifted  and^  distin 
guished  men. 


108  LIFE  OF 

About  this  time,  the  cowardice  and  imbe 
cility  of  General  Hull  tamely  surrendered  to 
the  British  the  important  post  of  Detroit,  with 
the  gallant  force  which  composed  its  garrison. 
This  event  spread  consternation,  far  and  wide, 
through  the  western  country,  and  greatly  in 
creased  the  difficulty  and  arduous  nature  of 
Governor  Harrison's  duties.  He  immediately, 
however,  organized  the  brave  troops  under 
his  command,  and  commenced  a  course  of 
rigid  discipline  and  military  training;  with 
the  confident  hope  of  retrieving  the  disasters 
consequent  upon  the  cowardly  surrender  of 
Detroit. 

But  his  operations  were  soon  interrupted  by 
the  receipt  of  official  letters  from  the  War  De 
partment,  written  in  ignorance  of  the  surren 
der  of  Hull  and  of  the  proceedings  in  Kentucky, 
and  appointing  General  Winchester  to  take 
command  of  Ithe  forces  marching  to  Detroit. 
Governor  Harrison  was,  at  the  same  time,  ap 
pointed  Brigadier  General  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States — but  he  declined  to  accept  this 
appointment,  being  desirous  that  the  War  De 
partment  should  first  be  made  aware  of  the 
arrangejments  by  which  he  had  received  the 
command  of  the  Kentucky  troops.  Mean- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  109 

while,  the  army  had  marched  to  the  north 
western  frontier  of  Ohio ;  and  Governor  Har 
rison,  having  relieved  Fort  Wayne,  which  had 
been  besieged  by  the  enemy,  and  having  de 
stroyed  the  Indian  towns  on  the  Elkhart  and 
the  Wabash,  resigned  the  command  to  Win 
chester,  with  the  intention  of  returning  to  In 
diana,  and  resuming  the  duties  of  his  territorial 
government. 

General  Winchester,  who  had  thus  taken 
the  chief  command,  was  an  old  revolutionary 
soldier,  and  a  brave  and  meritorious  officer ; 
but  being  less  known  and  less  distinguished, 
he  was  not,  like  Harrison,  possessed  of  the  en 
thusiastic  confidence  of  the  army.  Governor 
Harrison,  nevertheless,  exerted  every  effort  in 
his  power  to  reconcile  the  troops  to  this  change. 
But  soon  after  he  left  them,  their  displeasure 
at  having  been  deprived  of  their  favourite 
commander  was  not  confined  to  murmurs,  but 
created  open  disaffection  and  almost  mutiny. 
The  volunteers,  especially,  were  loud  in  their 
complaints  and  expressions  of  dissatisfaction 
at  the  change  of  commanders — and  the  troops 
were  at  last  induced  to  continue  their  march, 
solely  by  the  belief  that  as  soon  as  the  case 
was  rightly  understood  at  Washington,  the 


110  LIFE  OF 

command  would  be  restored  to  Governor  Har 
rison. 

This  expectation  was  speedily  realized — 
for  no  sooner  was  the  President  made  aware 
of  the  condition  of  the  army,  and  of  the  al 
most  unanimous  wishes  of  the  western  people, 
than  he  immediately  appointed  Harrison  in 
place  of  Winchester,  commander-in-chief  of 
the  north-western  army.  The  dispatch  con 
veying  this  appointment,  overtook  him  on  his 
way  to  Indiana,  and,  with  a  small  escort,  he 
returned,  without  delay,  to  the  army. 

He  arrived  at  the  encampment  late  at  night, 
but  at  a  very  critical  moment.  A  revolt  had 
that  day  taken  place  in  one  of  the  regiments 
of  Kentucky  volunteers,  commanded  by  Colo 
nel  Allen,  the  result  of  which  forcibly  evinced 
the  powerful  influence  General  Harrison  pos 
sessed  over  the  army.  He  had  scarcely  ar 
rived,  when  he  was  waited  upon  by  Colonel 
Allen  and  his  second  in  command,  who  bore 
him  the  mortifying  intelligence  that  their  men, 
exhausted  by  the  hard  fare  of  the  campaign, 
and  disappointed  in  their  expectation  of  an 
immediate  engagement  with  the  enemy,  had, 
in  defiance  of  their  duty  to  their  country,  and 
all  the  earnest  and  impassioned  remonstrances 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  Ill 

of  their  officers,  determined  to  return  home. 
They  assured  General  Harrison  that  their  ap 
peals  and  representations  were  answered  by- 
insult,  and  they  entreated  his  instant  interfer 
ence  as  the  only  means  of  bringing  the  muti 
neers  back  to  their  duty. 

The  general  declined  taking  any  step  that 
night,  but  gave  orders  that  the  next  morning 
the  alarm  signal  should  be  beat  instead  of  the 
reveille.  This  adroit  expedient  brought  all  the 
troops  to  their  arms,  and  they  were  formed  as 
usual  in  a  hollow  square.  General  Harrison 
then  made  his  appearance  on  parade,  much  to 
the  surprise  of  the  troops,  who,  from  his  late 
arrival  in  camp,  had  not  been  aware  of  his 
presence. 

With  a  ready  eloquence,  he  immediately 
addressed  them  on  the  subject  of  the  cam 
paign,  and  referred  to  the  disaffection  that  ex 
isted  in  one  of  the  Kentucky  regiments.  "  It 
was  fortunate,"  he  said,  "  that  this  discontent 
had  been  found  out  before  the  campaign  was 
further  advanced,  when  the  discovery  might 
have  been  mischievous  to  the  public  interests, 
as  well  as  disgraceful  to  the  parties  concern 
ed.  Now,  so  far  as  the  government  was  in 
terested,  the  discontented  troops,  who  had 
10 


112  LIFE  OF 

come  into  the  woods  with  the  expectation  of 
finding  all  the  luxuries  of  home  and  of  peace, 
Jiad  full  liberty  to  return.  He  would,"  he  con 
tinued,  "order  facilities  to  be  furnished  for 
their  immediate  accommodation.  But  he 
could  not  refrain  from  expressing  the  mortifi 
cation  he  anticipated  for  the  recep'tion  they 
would  meet  from  the  young  and  the  old,  who 
had  greeted  them  as  their  gallant  neighbours 
on  their  march  to  the  scene  of  war. 

"  What  must  be  their  feelings,"  said  the 
general,  "  to  see  those  whom  they  had  hailed 
as  their  generous  defenders,  now  returning 
without  striking  a  blow,  and  before  their  term 
of  plighted  service  had  expired  ?  But  if  this 
would  be  the  state  of  public  sentiment  in  Ohio, 
what  would  it  be  in  Kentucky  1  If  their  fa 
thers  did  not  drive  their  degenerate  sons  back 
to  the  field  of  battle  to  recover  their  wounded 
honour,  their  mothers  and  sisters  would  hiss 
them  from  their  presence.  If,  however,  the 
discontented  men  were  disposed  to  put  up  with 
all  the  taunts  and  disdain  which  awaited  them 
wherever  they  went,  they  were,"  General 
Harrison  again  assured  them,  "  at  full  liberty 
to  go  back." 

The  influence  of  this  manly  and  exciting 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  113 

address  was  instantaneous.  Colonel  Scott,  the 
senior  colonel  of  Kentucky,  a  war-worn  vete 
ran  who  had  served  in  the  armies  of  Harmar, 
St  Clair,  and  Wayne,  immediately  faced  his 
regiment,  and  said  to  them, — "  You,  my  boys, 
will  prove  your  attachment  to  the  service  of 
your  country,  and  to  your  general,  by  giving 
three  cheers."  The  air  instantly  resounded 
with  the  shouts  of  both  officers  and  men.  The 
regiment  of  Colonel  Lewis  replied  in  the  same 
manner  to  a  similar  request  from  their  com 
mander  ;  and  when,  at  last,  Colonel  Allen  ad 
dressed  the  soldiers  of  his  regiment  in  a  forci 
ble  appeal  to  their  patriotism  and  returning 
sense  of  duty,  they,  too,  responded  with  the 
same  cheering  shouts — and  none  of  the  troops 
behaved  more  faithfully  and  gallantly  than  these 
during  the  remainder  of  their  term  of  service. 
The  powers  conferred  on  Harrison,  as  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  North-western  army, 
were  of  great  extent,  and  he  was  left  to  exer 
cise  them  according  to  his  own  unrestricted 
judgment.  In  the  dispatch  containing  this  ap 
pointment,  dated  September  17th,  1812,  the 
Secretary  of  War  says :  —  "  You  will  com 
mand  such  means  as  may  be  practicable — ex 
ercise  your  own  discretion,  and  act  in  all  cases 


114  LIFE  OF 

according  to  your  own  judgment," — thus  con 
ferring  upon  him  extraordinary  and  almost 
unlimited  powers.  We  refer  to  this,  merely 
that  we  may  here  notice  the  remarkable  fact, 
that,  though  vested  with  unusual  powers,  Gene 
ral  Harrison  was  never  known,  during  the 
whole  of  his  command,  to  exercise  his  author 
ity  in  an  unjust  or  oppressive  manner.  His 
measures  were  energetic,  but  always  qualified 
by  his  characteristic  moderation  and  human 
ity,  and  by  a  due  regard  for  the  feelings  of 
every  soldier  in  his  camp. 

This  appointment,  it  should  be  remembered, 
too,  was  not  obtained  by  General  Harrison  by 
any  party  or  personal  influence,  but  was  con 
ferred  upon  him  in  compliance  with  the  almost 
unanimous  wishes  of  the  western  people ;  and 
by  a  President,  who,  when  Secretary  of  State 
under  Jefferson,  had  been  in  constant  corre 
spondence  with  him  in  relation  to  the  territo 
rial  affairs  of  Indiana,  and  had  thus  enjoyed 
an  ample  opportunity  of  forming  a  fair  esti 
mate  of  his  abilities  and  qualifications. 

The  duties  that  devolved  on  General  Har 
rison,  in  his  new  station,  were  arduous  beyond 
description.  The  troops  under  his  command, 
though  brave,  were  either  volunteers  for  a 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  115 

limited  period  of  time,  or  inexperienced  and 
undisciplined  recruits ;  and  the  army  was 
badly  equipped,  and  nearly  destitute  of  bag 
gage  and  military  stores.  The  enemy  to  which 
he  was  opposed  were  tried  and  disciplined 
British  troops,  well  supplied  with  every  muni 
tion  of  war,  and  assisted  by  a  powerful  body 
of  Indians  under  the  command  of  a  warrior 
distinguished  for  his  great  sagacity,  energy, 
and  daring  bravery.  With  these  inadequate 
means,  under  these  unfavourable  circum 
stances,  and  with  such  formidable  opponents, 
he  was  required  to  defend  an  immense  extent 
of  frontier,  stretching  along  the  shores  of  the 
great  northern  lakes,  whose  numerous  har 
bours  and  rivers  were  easy  of  access  to  an 
enemy,  possessed  of  a  fleet  sufficiently  large 
to  command  these  waters,  and  to  transport 
their  troops  in  any  direction.  In  addition  to 
this,  the  roads  leading  to  those  points  which 
most  required  defence,  were  nearly  impassa 
ble,  and  lay,  for  hundreds  of  miles,  through  a 
wilderness  swarming  with  hostile  Indians, 
and  through  gloomy  and  dangerous  swamps, 
where  the  troops,  though  little  encumbered 
with  baggage,  could  advance  but  slowly,  and 
with  great  labour.  But  under  all  these  diffi- 
10* 


116  LIFE  OF 

culties,  the  spirits  of  the  soldiers  were  sus 
tained  by  the  presence  and  example  of  their 
favourite  commander — who  animated  them 
in  their  fatigues,  and  cheerfully  endured  the 
same  hardships  and  privations  which  they 
encountered. 

The  published  accounts  of  our  recent  war 
with  the  Serninoles  in  Florida,  the  disastrous 
details  of  which  have  been  made  but  too 
familiar  to  us,  will  convey  to  our  readers 
some  idea  of  the  peculiar  dangers  and  diffi 
culties  of  this  campaign,  and  of  the  skill  and 
fortitude  required  to  overcome  them.  In 
both  cases,  we  were  opposed  by  the  same 
savage  foe,  and  the  country  was  almost  inac 
cessible  from  the  same  causes — its  unhealthful- 
ness  at  that  season  of  the  year,  and  its  exten 
sive  and  treacherous  swamps,  the  passes 
through  which  were  known  only  to  the 
hostile  Indians  by  whom  they  were  occupied, 
-with  perhaps,  in  the  two  cases,  but  this  differ 
ence  only,  that  the  northern  Indians  are  well 
known  to  be  much  fiercer  and  more  formida 
ble  warriors  than  their  southern  brethren,  and 
that,  during  the  whole  of  this  campaign,  they 
were  kept  constantly  supplied,  by  the  British, 
with  more  effective  arms  and  ammunition. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  1 17 

Yet,  undismayed  by  these  dangers  and  ob 
stacles,  General  Harrison,  wishing  to  strike 
an  early  blow  at  the  enemy,  formed  the  bold 
and  daring  design  of  a  winter  campaign — 
hoping,  by  a  rapid  and  unexpected  move 
ment,  to  re-capture  Detroit,  take  Maiden,  and 
perhaps  overrun  the  greater  part  of  Upper 
Canada.  To  lessen  the  difficulty  of  collecting 
the  necessary  supply  of  provisions  and  forage, 
and  to  form  the  requisite  depots,  he  stationed 
the  several  corps  of  his  army,  at  three  differ 
ent  points.  The  left  wing,  consisting  princi 
pally  of  Kentuckians,  under  the  command  of 
General  Winchester,  he  posted  at  Fort  Defi 
ance — the  centre,  composed  of  Ohio  troops 
under  the  command  of  General  Tupper,  he 
stationed  at  Fort  McArthur — and  the  right 
wing,  consisting  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  Vir 
ginia  brigades,  was  under  his  own  immediate 
command,  at  Upper  Sandusky.  After  accu 
mulating  supplies  of  provisions  and  military 
stores  at  these  several  points,  the  army  was 
to  take  up  the  line  of  march  by  three  different 
routes.  The  left  wing  was  to  descend  the 
river  from  Fort  Defiance,  the  centre  to  ad 
vance  along  Hull's  Trace,  the  right  wing  was 
to  cross  the  Black  Swamp  by  a  difficult  and 


118  LIFE  OF 

dangerous  route,  and  the  three  corps  were  to 
meet  and  concentrate  the  entire  forces  of  the 
army  at  the  Rapids  of  the  Maumee,  near 
Wayne's  old  battle-ground. 

Having  made  all  the  arrangements,  the 
general  used  every  effort  to  hasten  the  neces 
sary  supplies,  and  meanwhile  kept  the  troops 
constantly  and  laboriously  employed  in  build 
ing  forts,  forming  depots,  and  cutting  roads  to 
facilate  his  future  operations. 

The  centre  and  right  wing  of  the  army,  not 
being  far  removed  from  our  settlements,  were 
able  to  collect  provisions  with  comparative 
ease ;  but  the  left  wing,  stationed  at  a  more 
remote  distance,  found  great  difficulty  in  ob 
taining  a  sufficient  supply  even  for  their  own 
immediate  subsistence.  Under  these  circum 
stances,  and  ascertaining  that  he  could  pro 
cure  forage  in  abundance  at  the  Rapids, 
General  Winchester,  having  received  the 
instructions  of  General  Harrison,  determined 
to  move  his  forces  down  the  Maumee  to  the 
appointed  place  of  concentration,  without 
waiting  for  the  co-operation  of  the  centre  and 
right  wing  of  the  army.  He  accordingly,  on 
the  30th  of  December,  took  up  his  line  of 
march  for  the  Rapids.  On  the  same  day,  a 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  119 

gallant  young  volunteer  from  Kentucky  (Mr. 
Leslie  Combs),  was  sent  with  a  dispatch  to 
apprise  General  Harrison  of  this  movement. 
On  the  day  after  Mr.  Combs  had  set  out  with 
this  dispatch,  a  heavy  rain  fell,  followed  im 
mediately  by  a  violent  snow  storm,  which 
continued  without  intermission  for  nearly 
three  days,  and  covered  the  ground  to  the 
depth  of  two  feet,  thus  preventing  the  rain 
which  had  first  fallen  from  freezing.  On  foot, 
and  with  but  a  single  guide,  his  way,  which 
led  partly  through  a  wilderness  and  partly 
through  the  Black  Swamp,  would,  under  the 
most  favourable  circumstances,  have  been 
toilsome  and  dangerous.  But  the  unexpected 
yet  unavoidable  difficulties  were  such,  and 
the  circuit  he  was  compelled  to  make  round 
the  morasses  so  increased  the  distance  (about 
a  hundred  miles),  that  this  dispatch  was  de 
layed  five  days  longer  than  had  been  antici 
pated.  Mr.  Combs  arrived  at  his  point  of 
destination,  Fort  McArthur,  on  the  7th  of 
January,  worn  out  and  exhausted  with  fatigue 
and  privations — neither  he  nor  his  guide  hav 
ing  tasted  food  of  any  kind,  for  the  -last  three 
days  of  their  journey.  General  Tupper  at 
once  forwarded  this  dispatch  to  General 


120  LIFE  OF 

Harrison,  who  received  it  on  the  12th  of 
January,  and  immediately  issued  orders  for 
sending  on  a  part  of  the  artillery  to  support 
General  Winchester,  and  a  supply  of  provi 
sions  for  his  troops. 

In  the  mean  time,  General  Winchester  had 
proceeded  down  the  Maumee  to  the  Rapids, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  10th  of  January,  and 
encamped  at  a  strong  position  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river,  which  he  fortified. 

The  first  information  General  Harrison  re 
ceived  of  Winchester's  arrival  at  this  place, 
came,  not  from  that  officer  himself,  but  through 
an  indirect  channel.  On  the  evening  of  the 
]6th,  an  express  arrived  from  General  Per 
kins,  who  then  commanded  a  force  at  Lower 
Sandusky,  informing  Harrison  that  Winches 
ter  had  encamped  at  the  Rapids,  and  had  ap 
plied  to  him  for  a  battalion  of  troops,  to  aid  in 
a  movement  that  he  was  meditating  against  the 
enemy.  Alarmed  at  this  intelligence,  and 
dreading  disastrous  consequences,  General 
Harrison  instantly  dispatched  reinforcements 
to  Winchester,  and  used  every  effort  to  for 
ward  him  a  supply  of  provisions  and  military 
stores. 

Soon  after  Winchester  had  arrived  at  the 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  121 

Rapids,  the  inhabitants  of  Frenchtown  —  a 
small  settlement  on  the  river  Raisin,  within 
our  territory,  sent  messages  to  General  Win 
chester,  urgently  entreating  him  to  protect 
them  from  the  large  force  of  British  and  In 
dians,  assembled  at  Maiden,  only  eighteen 
miles  distant  from  their  town.  By  the  advice 
of  a  council  of  his  officers,  Winchester  deter 
mined  to  comply  with  their  entreaties,  and 
send  on  a  strong  force  for  their  protection. 
On  the  17th,  Colonel  Lewis  and  Colonel  Allen 
were  detached  for  this  duty,  and  marched  at 
the  head  of  six  hundred  and  sixty  men.  The 
nex»t  day,  they  arrived  at  the  river  Raisin,  and 
finding  that  the  forces  of  the  enemy  were  ak 
ready  in  Frenchtown,  they  attacked  them 
with  great  gallantry,  and  after  a  sharp  action, 
succeeded  in  dislodging  them,  and  gained 
possession  of  the  place.  The  engagement 
commenced  at  three  o'clock,  and  the  pursuit 
continued  until  dusk,  when  the  enemy  were 
driven  several  miles  from  the  field  of  action. 
Flushed  with  this  victory,  Colonel  Lewis  de 
termined  to  maintain  his  position,  and  dis 
patched  an  express  to  General  Winchester  to 
apprise  him  of  his  intention. 

Winchester,  on   hearing  this   intelligence, 


122  LIFE  OF 

approved  of  the  decision  of  Colonel  Lewis, 
and  knowing  his  critical  situation,  hastened  to 
support  him  with  all  his  force.  He  arrived 
and  encamped  at  Frenchtown  on  the  20th — 
but  unfortunately,  for  the  first  time  during  the 
whole  campaign,  he  omitted  to  fortify  his  po 
sition,  and  even  neglected  to  station  a  piquet 
guard  on  the  road  leading  to  Maiden,  where 
the  enemy  were  posted  in  great  strength. 
The  whole  of  the  21st  was  suffered  to  pass 
away  without  any  of  these  necessary  precau 
tions  having  been  adopted — and  on  the  follow 
ing  morning,  the  British  and  Indians  from 
Maiden,  having  advanced  unperceived  with 
their  entire  force,  opened  a  heavy  fire  of 
grape-shot  upon  our  troops,  from  several 
pieces  of  artillery,  at  a  distance  of  not  more 
than  three  hundred  yards  from  the  camp. 
The  troops  under  Winchester's  immediate 
command,  completely  taken  by  surprise  and 
unprotected  by  any  fortification,  were  soon 
overpowered  by  numbers,  and  forced  to  re 
treat  in  confusion.  Winchester,  and  the  in 
trepid  Lewis  and  Allen,  made  every  effort  to 
rally  the  fugitives,  but  in  vain.  They  fled  in 
disorder  across  the  river  and  to  the  woods, 
where  the  Indians  having  gained  their  flank 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  123 

and  rear,  pursued  and  tomahawked  them 
without  mercy.  General  Winchester  and 
some  few  others  were  taken  prisoners  and 
carried  to  the  British  camp. 

But  a  part  of  Lewis's  detachment,  who  had 
adopted  the  precaution  to  protect  their  en 
campment  by  pickets,  still  defended  their  posi 
tion  with  great  bravery  and  resolution ;  until 
Proctor,  the  commander  of  the  British  force, 
procured  an  order  from  Winchester,  com 
manding  them  to  surrender.  As  their  ammu 
nition  was  nearly  expended,  and  they  had  no 
hope  of  relief,  these  heroic  troops,  though  re 
luctantly,  obeyed  this  order  —  but  not,  how 
ever,  until  Proctor  had  given  them  an  express 
assurance  of  protection  from  the  exasperated 
rage  and  cruelty  of  the  Indians. 

All  the  prisoners  who  were  able  to  make 
the  exertion,  were  marched  to  Maiden ;  but 
those  who  were  severely  wounded  were  left 
behind  in  the  houses  at  Frenchtown,  with  the 
repeated  promises  of  Proctor  that  they  should 
be  protected  from  the  savages,  and  that,  the 
next  morning,  sleds  should  be  sent  to  convey 
them  to  Maiden.  But  instead  of  this,  they 
were  left  wholly  unprotected,  and  the  next  day, 
in  place  of  the  sleds,  came  a  party  of  infuri- 
11 


124  LIFE  OF 

ated  Indians,  who  set  fire  to  the  town,  burnt 
the  houses,  and  barbarously  murdered  all  the 
prisoners  in  cold  blood ! 

The  defeat  and  massacre  at  the  river  Raisin 
produced  a  great  sensation  throughout  the 
Western  country,*  and  especially  in  Kentucky 
— which  state,  always  foremost  in  danger,  lost 
some  of  her  most  valuable  citizens  and  gallant 
officers  in  this  disastrous  affair.  So  serious  a 
calamity  necessarily  excited  much  discussion 
with  regard  to  its  causes,  and  as  some  censure 
was  thrown  on  those  who  committed  no  error, 
and  who  were  not  instrumental  in  causing  the 
defeat  of  Winchester,  which  proved  the  defeat 
of  the  campaign,  it  is  proper  that  we  should 
proceed  to  state  the  measures  taken  by  Gene 
ral  Harrison  to  reinforce  General  Winchester, 
and  prevent  the  unfortunate  result  above  re 
lated. 

On  the  evening  that  General  Harrison  re 
ceived,  though  indirectly,  the  intelligence  of 
General  Winchester's  contemplated  movement 
against  the  enemy,  as  before  stated,  he  imme 
diately  dispatched  an  express  to  the  Rapids 
for  information,  gave  orders  for  a  corps  of 
three  hundred  men  to  hasten  on  with  the  ar 
tillery,  and  for  escorts  to  advance,  without 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  125 

delay,  with  the  provisions  and  military  stores. 
The  next  morning  he  proceeded  himself  to 
Lower  Sandusky,  at  which  place  he  arrived 
in  the  night  following — having  travelled  a  dis 
tance  of  forty  miles  in  seven  hours  and  a  half, 
over  roads  requiring  such  exertion  to  pass 
them,  that  the  horse  of  his  aid,  Major  Hakill, 
fell  dead,  from  fatigue  and  exhaustion,  on  their 
arrival  at  the  fort.  He  found  there,  that  Gene 
ral  Perkins  had  prepared  to  send  a  battalion 
to  the  Rapids,  in  conformity  with  a  request 
from  General  Winchester.  That  battalion  was 
dispatched  the  next  morning,  the  18th,  with  a 
piece  of  artillery ;  but  so  bad  were  the  roads, 
that  it  was  unable,  by  its  utmost  exertions,  to 
reach  the  river  Raisin,  a  distance  of  seventy- 
five  miles,  before  the  fatal  disaster. 

General  Harrison  then  determined  to  pro 
ceed  to  the  Rapids  himself,  to  learn  personally 
from  General  Winchester  his  situation  and 
views.  At  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
19th,  while  he  still  remained  at  Lower  San- 
dusky,  he  received  the  information,  that  Colo 
nel  Lewis  had  been  sent  with  a  detachment, 
to  secure  the  provisions  on  the  river  Raisin, 
and  to  occupy,  with  the  intention  of  holding 
possession  of  the  village  of  Frenchtown.  There 


126  LIFE  OF 

was  then  but  one  regiment  and  a  battalion  at 
Lower  Sandusky — the  regiment  was  immedi 
ately  put  in  motion,  with  orders  to  make  forced 
marches  for  the  Rapids,  while  General  Harri 
son  himself  immediately  proceeded  to  the  same 
place.  On  his  way,  he  met  an  express  with 
intelligence  of  the  victory  which  had  been 
gained  on  the  preceding  day. 

The  anxiety  of  General  Harrison  to  push 
forward,  and  either  prevent,  or  remedy  any 
misfortune  which  might  occur,  as  soon  as  he 
was  apprised  of  the  advance  to  the  river  Rai 
sin,  was  manifested  by  the  great  personal  ex 
ertions  which  he  made  in  this  instance.  He 
started  in  a  sleigh,  with  General  Perkins,  to 
overtake  the  battalion  under  Cotgreve,  attend 
ed  only  by  a  single  servant.  As  the  sleigh 
went  very  slowly,  from  the  roughness  of  the 
road,  he  took  the  horse  of  his  servant  and 
pushed  on  alone.  Night  came  upon  him  in 
the  midst  of  the  swamp,  which  was  so  imper 
fectly  frozen,  that  his  horse  sank  to  the  saddle- 
girths  at  every  step.  He  had  then  no  resource 
but  to  dismount  and  lead  his  horse,  jumping 
himself  from  one  sod  to  another.  When  al 
most  exhausted  with  the  cold  and  fatigue,  the 
General  overtook  one  of  Cotgreve's  men,  by 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  127 

whose  assistance  he  was  enabled  to  reach  the 
camp  of  the  battalion. 

Very  early  on  the  morning  of  the  20th, 
General  Harrison  arrived  at  the  Rapids,  from 
wrhich  place  General  Winchester  had  gone,  ort 
the  preceding  evening,  with  all  his  disposable 
force,  to  the  river  Raisin.  On  the  same  day, 
by  a  forced  march,  Cotgreve's  battalion 
reached  the  Rapids,  and  was,  without  delay, 
hurried  on  with  two  pieces  of  artillery,  to  the 
aid  of  Winchester — and  on  the  evening  of  the 
21st,  three  hundred  Kentuckians,  who  had  been 
left  behind  by  Winchester,  as  a  garrison,  were 
likewise  ordered  to  march  to  Frenchtown. 
The  next  day  intelligence  reached  the  Rapids 
of  Proctor's  attack  on  Winchester's  camp,  and 
General  Harrison  instantly  ordered  the  whole 
force  at  that  station  to  be  pushed  on  with  all 
possible  expedition,  and  himself  hastened  for 
ward  to  the  scene  of  danger.  They  were  soon, 
however,  met  by  fugitives  from  the  field  of 
battle,  from  whom  they  ascertained  the  total 
defeat  of  Winchester's  forces.  A  council  was 
held  of  general  and  field  officers,  by  whom  it 
was  decided  that  it  would  be  imprudent  and 
useless  to  advance  any  further.  Strong  par 
ties  were  then  sent  out  to  protect  the  fugitives 
11* 


128  LIFE  OF 

from  the  field  of  battle  and  from  Frenchtown, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  troops  returned  to 
the  Rapids. 

It  is  thus  evident  that  every  thing  possible, 
within  the  control  of  General  Harrison,  was 
done  by  him  to  reinforce  and  aid  General  Win 
chester  in  the  dangerous  position  he  had  as 
sumed.  This  expedition  of  Winchester,  to  the 
river  Raisin,  was  highly  imprudent,  since  he 
advanced  within  eighteen  miles  of  the  head 
quarters  of  the  enemy,  whose  forces  were 
strong  and  daily  increasing,  and  he,  at  the 
same  time,  removed  more  than  thirty  miles 
from  the  Rapids,  the  nearest  point  from  which 
he  could  possibly  have  received  any  assistance. 
Still  the  "disastrous  result  that  ensued  would  no 
doubt  have  been  avoided,  had  he  adopted  the 
ordinary  precautions  of  fortifying  his  camp, 
and  stationing  videttes  to  give  him  timely 
warning  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  His 
troops  could  then,  at  least,  have  defended  them 
selves  until  the  arrival  of  the  reinforcements 
from  the  Rapids,  when  the  enemy  would  have 
been  compelled  to  retreat,  or,  had  they  fought, 
the  battle  would,  in  all  probability,  have  ter 
minated  in  our  favour. 

After  Winchester's  defeat,  our  troops  at  the 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  129 

Rapids  amounted  to  less  than  nine  hundred  ef 
fective  men.  General  Harrison  called  a  coun 
cil  of  war,  who,  supposing  that  their  position 
would  be  attacked  by  the  enemy  in  overwhelm- 
iug  force,  unanimously  recommended  that  the 
army  should  fall  back  to  Portage  River,  eigh 
teen  miles  distant.  The  next  morning,  there 
fore,  our  troops  abandoned  the  Rapids,  and  re 
tired  to  the  designated  point,  which  they 
strongly  fortified. 

But  on  the  1st  of  February,  the  army,  hav 
ing  been  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  General 
Leftwich,  with  the  Virginia  brigade  and  a  part 
of  the  artillery,  augmenting  their  number  to 
eighteen  hundred  men,  again  marched  to  the 
Rapids.  General  Harrison,  still  entertaining 
a  hope  to  accomplish  the  great  objects  of  the 
campaign,  during  the  winter,  continued  to  ex 
ert  himself  unremittingly  in  making  prepara 
tions.  But  the  elements  seemed  to  conspire 
against  him.  Instead  of  the  severe  cold  and 
intense  frosts,  that  usually  prevailed  in  this 
northern  region  at  this  season,  and  which 
would  have  enabled  him  to  move  his  forces, 
military  stores,  and  supplies,  with  comparative 
ease  and  celerity,  warm  rains  broke  up  the 
roads,  and  were  followed  by  heavy  falls  of 


130  LIFE  OF 

snow,  which  rendered  the  march  of  troops  ex 
ceedingly  fatiguing  and  dangerous,  as  well  as 
slow,  and  the  conveyance  of  provisions  and 
heavy  munitions  of  war  almost  impossible. 
The  unavoidable  exposure,  too,  of  the  troops 
to  the  heavy  rains,  which  kept  the  encamp 
ment  almost  constantly  inundated,  the  defi 
ciency  of  proper  tents  to  shelter  them,  and 
their  want  even  of  sufficient  food  and  clothing, 
produced  pleurisies  and  much  other  severe 
sickness  in  the  camp,  and  greatly  reduced  the 
number  of  effective  men.* 

Under  these  circumstances,  General  Harri 
son  was  at  length  constrained  to  abandon, 
though  with  much  reluctance,  all  thought  of 
the  contemplated  expedition  to  Maiden,  and 
he  prepared  to  go  into  winter  quarters  at  the 
Rapids.  He  accordingly  selected  a  good  po 
sition  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  which  he 
strongly  fortified,  and  called  Camp  Meigs,  in 

*  The  General's  tent,  placed  in  the  centre,  happened 
to  be  in  one  of  the  lowest  parts  of  the  encampment, 
and  consequently  suffered  most  from  the  rain  ;  but, 
when  entreated  by  his  officers  to  change  its  position,  he 
refused  to  do  so,  declaring1  that  it  was  necessary  that 
every  military  man  should  be  satisfied  with  the  situa 
tion  which,  in  the  course  of  his  duty,  fell  to  his  lot. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  131 

honour  of  the  patriotic  governor  of  Ohio. 
Leaving  the  army  at  that  station,  General 
Harrison  proceeded  to  Cincinnati,  to  procure 
reinforcements  of  men,  and  supplies  of  provi 
sions  and  military  stores. 

About  this  time,  General  Harrison  was  ap 
pointed  major-general  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States.  This  appointment  had  been 
strangely  delayed,  although  General  Harrison 
had  been  clothed  with  such  extensive  powers  ; 
and  the  people  of  the  West,  fearing  that  their 
favourite  commander  might  therefore  resign 
at  the  close  of  this  campaign,  had  called  pub 
lic  meetings  and  sent  addresses  to  the  presi 
dent,  requesting  him  to  give  Harrison  the 
appointment  of  major-general,  and  urging  him 
to  accept  it — a  demonstration  of  public  feeling 
which  soon  produced  the  desired  effect. 

We  should  here  mention,  that  while  engaged 
in  the  various  and  arduous  services  of  this 
campaign,  General  Harrison  organized  several 
distinct  expeditions  against  the  Indian  towns, 
to  keep  the  hostile  savages  in  check,  and  pro 
tect  our  extended  frontier.  One  of  these  ex 
peditions,  consisting  of  a  detachment  of  six 
hundred  men,  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Campbell,  was  sent  against  the  towns  on  the 


132  LIFE  OF 

Mississineway,  from  which  our  scattering  set 
tlements  had  suffered  much  annoyance.  This 
enterprise  was  conducted  with  great  skill,  and 
proved  signally  successful.  The  principal 
town  was  attacked  in  the  most  gallant  man 
ner,  and  after  a  desperate  action  of  more  than 
an  hour,  was  carried  at  the  point  of  the  bayo 
net.  From  the  general  order  issued  by  Har 
rison,  on  the  return  of  this  expedition,  we 
make  the  following  extract,  which  will  convey 
some  idea  of  the  humane  and  generous  feel 
ings,  that  have  always  characterised  both  his 
public  and  private  conduct.  After  awarding 
these  gallant  troops  the  high  meed  of  praise 
which  their  bravery  had  won,  he  goes  on  to 
say  —  "But  the  character  of  this  gallant  de 
tachment,  exhibiting  as  it  did,  perseverance, 
fortitude,  and  bravery,  would,  however,  be 
incomplete,  if,  in  the  midst  of  victory,  they 
had  forgotten  the  feelings  of  humanity.  It  is 
with  the  sincerest  pleasure  that  the  general 
has  heard,  that  the  most  punctual  obedience 
was  paid  to  his  orders,  in  not  only  saving  all 
the  women  and  children,  but  in  sparing  all  the 
warriors  who  ceased  to  resist ;  and  that  even 
when  vigorously  attacked  by  the  enemy,  the 
claims  of  mercy  prevailed  over  every  sense 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  133 

of  their  own  danger,  and  this  heroic  band  re 
spected  the  lives  of  their  prisoners.  Let  an 
account  of  murdered  innocence  be  opened  in 
the  records  of  heaven  against  our  enemies 
alone.  The  American  soldier  will  follow  the 
example  of  his  government ;  and  the  sword  of 
the  one  will  not  be  raised  against  the  fallen 
and  helpless,  nor  the  gold  of  the  other  be  paid 
for  the  scalps  of  a  maseacred  enemy."  What 
a  contrast  do  these  noble  sentiments  present 
to  the  atrocious  conduct  of  the  British  Gene 
ral,  Proctor — who,  at  the  cruel  massacre  at 
Raisin  river,  and  at  the  Rapids,  baselypermit- 
ted  unresisting  prisoners  of  war  to  be  unspar 
ingly  butchered,  by  his  savage  and  remorse 
less  allies. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Opening  of  the  second  Campaign.  —  Siege  at  Fort 
Meigs. — Its  gallant  Defence. — Brilliant  sortie. — De 
feat  of  Colonel  Dudley. — The  Siege  abandoned. — 
Second  Siege  of  Fort  Meigs. — Attack  on  Fort  Ste- 
phenson. 

EARLY  in  the  spring,  intelligence  was  re 
ceived  that  the  British  were  making  extensive 
preparations,  and  concentrating  a  large  force 


134  LIFE  OF 

of  regular  soldiers,  Canadians,  and  Indians,  to 
besiege  Fort  Meigs. 

On  obtaining  this  information,  General  Har 
rison  hastened  to  his  camp,  and  exerted  the 
most  strenuous  efforts,  to  prepare  for  this 
threatened  attack  of  the  enemy.  His  presence 
cheered  the  troops,  and  he  inspired  them  with 
fresh  ardour,  on  the  approach  of  the  enemy, 
by  an  eloquent  address,  in  which  he  alluded 
modestly,  but  in  the  most  animating  manner, 
to  the  neighbouring  battle-field,  where  Gene 
ral  Wayne  had  gained  the  brilliant  victory  of 
the  Maumee  Rapids,  and  where  he  himself 
had  won  the  brightest  of  his  earlier  laurels. 

At  this  time,  the  garrison  of  Fort  Meigs  was 
much  reduced  in  numbers,  and  the  period  for 
which  those  who  still  remained  had  enlisted, 
was  about  to  expire.  General  Harrison  there 
fore  looked  with  great  anxiety  for  the  arrival 
of  the  strong  reinforcement  of  Kentucky 
troops,  who  were  approaching  with  all  possi 
ble  dispatch  under  General  Clay ;  but  whose 
march  had  been  greatly  impeded  by  the 
wretched  condition  of  the  roads. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th  of  April,  the 
scouts  brought  in  intelligence  of  the  near  ad 
vance  of  the  enemy.  And  soon  after,  on  that 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  135 

day,  the  British  troops  were  discovered  from 
the  fort,  ascending  the  river  in  vessels  and 
boats,  while  the  Indians,  in  strong  force,  were 
seen  approaching,  at  the  same  time,  by  land. 
The  British  disembarked  and  encamped  at  the 
old  station  on  the  Maumee,  nearly  two  miles 
below  Fort  Meigs ;  and  on  the  night  after  they 
landed,  they  commenced  the  construction  of 
three  powerful  batteries,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  river,  directly  opposite  our  camp. 

On  the  first  of  May,  the  batteries  of  the 
enemy  were  completed.  But  to  counteract 
their  effect,  during  the  time  they  had  been 
employed  in  erecting  them,  our  troops  had 
thrown  up  a  traverse  of  earth  twelve  feet  in 
height,  and  running  across  the  whole  extent 
of  the  camp.  The  construction  of  this  tra 
verse,  being  behind  the  tents  of  our  camp,  had 
been  entirely  concealed  from  the  British,  but 
as  soon  as  their  batteries  began  to  play,  these 
tents  were  struck,  and  to  the  disappointment 
of  the  enemy,  our  troops  were  safely  with 
drawn  behind  the  protection  of  their  new  for 
tification.  A  severe  fire  was  now  opened  from 
the  British  works,  which  was  returned,  with 
equal  vigour  and  more  effect,  from  the  fort. 
Other  batteries  were  likewise  erected  by  the 
12 


136  LIFE  OF 

enemy,  on  the  southern  side  of  the  river,  and 
a  heavy  cannonading  was  continued,  with 
scarcely  any  intermission,  for  five  days.  In 
consequence,  however,  of  the  skilful  disposi 
tions  of  General  Harrison,  very  little  loss  was 
suffered  on  our  side. 

At  midnight,  on  the  fourth  of  May,  General 
Harrison  received  the  welcome  intelligence 
that  General  Clay  with  his  forces  was  just 
above  the  Rapids,  and  would  arrive  at  the  fort 
by  daybreak  of  the  next  morning.  Immedi 
ately  on  receiving  this  information,  General 
Harrison  promptly  decided  to  make  a  bold 
and  vigorous  effort  to  raise  the  siege,  by  a 
simultaneous  attack  on  the  enemy's  batteries 
upon  both  sides  of  the  river.  Preparations  were 
at  once  made  for  a  sortie  from  the  fort,  against 
the  British  works  on  the  right  bank,  and  an 
officer  was  dispatched  to  General  Clay,  direct 
ing  him  to  land  six  or  eight  hundred  men  about 
a  mile  above  the  fort,  on  the  left  bank,  with 
orders  to  march  with  great  secresy  and  ra 
pidity  to  the  assault  of  the  batteries  in  that 
quarter,  to  carry  them  by  storm,  spike  the 
cannon  and  let  down  the  carriages,  and  then 
hasten  to  their  boats  and  cross  over  to  the 
camp.  The  sortie  from  the  fort  was  attended 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  137 

with  great  success.  The  detachment  ordered 
to  this  service,  consisted  of  three  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  a  part  of  whom  were  regulars,  and 
the  remainder  volunteers  and  Kentucky  mili 
tia,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Miller,  of 
the  United  States'  army.  These  brave  troops 
attacked  a  body  of  British  regulars  and  In 
dians,  of  more  than  double  their  number ;  but 
the  impetuosity  of  their  charge  was  irresisti 
ble,  and  after  a  severe  struggle,  they  drove 
the  enemy  from  the  batteries.  They  spiked 
the  cannon,  took  a  large  number  of  prisoners, 
and  having  fully  accomplished  their  object, 
returned  in  triumph  to  the  fort.  This  sortie 
was  one  of  the  most  sanguinary  and  desperate 
actions  fought  during  the  whole  war — and  its 
brilliant  success  was  richly  merited,  by  the 
intrepid  gallantry  of  the  brave  troops  engaged 
in  the  enterprise. 

General  Clay,  after  detaching  Colonel  Dud 
ley  with  eight  hundred  men,  to  attack  the  bat 
teries  on  the  left  bank,  descended  the  river 
with  his  troops  in  boats ;  and  though  endan 
gered  by  the  swiftness  of  the  rapids,  and 
strongly  opposed  by  the  Indians,  he  overcame 
every  difficulty,  and  fought  his  way,  in  safety, 
to  the  fort. 


138  LIFE  OF 

In  the  mean  time  Colonel  Dudley's  detachment 
had  landed  nearly  two  miles  above  the  enemy's 
batteries.  This  movement  was  so  wholly 
unlooked  for,  that  the  attack  proved  complete 
ly  successful.  The  British  were  taken  by  sur 
prise,  and  the  gallant  Kentuckians  charging 
unexpectedly  upon  them,  put  them  to  flight 
and  carried  their  batteries  without  the  loss  of 
a  man.  But  though  the  commencement  of  this 
enterprise  was  so  well  conducted  and  so  sin 
gularly  fortunate,  its  result  proved  far  other 
wise.  When  Dudley  attacked  the  batteries, 
he  threw  forward  a  van-guard,  consisting  of 
two  companies  of  spies  and  friendly  Indians, 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Leslie  Combs, 
whose  bravery  and  intrepidity  in  the  former 
campaign,  as  well  as  the  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  country  which  he  then  acquired,  had 
obtained  him,  though  very  young,  a  command 
over  much  older  officers.  Dudley  had  direct 
ed  Combs  to  take  possession  of  the  woods  skirt 
ing  the  swamp,  to  prevent  the  approach  of  the 
Indians  from  that  quarter ;  but  in  the  hurry 
and  excitement  of  the  moment,  he  omitted  to 
give  any  directions  to  retire  to  the  boats  after 
the  storming  of  the  batteries.  Combs,  in  com 
pliance  with  his  orders,  posted  his  men  along 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  139 

the  edge  of  the  swamp — a  position  which  they 
had  not  long  occupied,  before  they  were  at 
tacked  by  outlying  parties  of  Indians,  who, 
every  moment  increased  in  numbers.  A  re 
treat  to  the  boats  might  still  have  been  effected 
by  the  van-guard,  with  very  inconsiderable 
loss ;  but  Combs,  thinking  it  necessary,  from 
Dudley's  instructions,  that  he  should  maintain 
his  position,  cheered  on  his  men,  who,  unaided 
by  any  reinforcement,  bravely  resisted  the  In 
dians  for  some  time.  By  the  sacrifice  of  this 
small  but  intrepid  body  of  men,  Dudley  might 
even  yet  have  withdrawn  the  remainder  of  his 
troops  without  much  additional  loss ;  but  on 
hearing  the  report  of  the  Indian  rifles,  this  gal 
lant  and  high-minded  officer,  conscious  of  his 
omission  to  give  the  van-guard  the  necessary 
orders  to  retire  to  their  boats,  and  hoping  to 
bring  them  off  in  safety,  hastened  at  once  to 
their  support,  leaving  Major  Shelby  with  but 
two  companies,  in  charge  of  the  batteries  he 
had  taken.  He  attacked  the  Indians  with  great 
vigour,  and,  after  a  sharp  action,  succeeded  in 
driving  them  some  distance  into  the  swamp. 
But,  meanwhile,  the  Indians  had  been  continu 
ally  crossing  over  from  their  main  body  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  until  their  force  had 
12* 


140  LIFE  OF 

increased  to  overwhelming  numbers;  and  Dud 
ley,  after  repeatedly  driving  them  back  by  the 
impetuous  charge  of  his  brave  Kentuckians, 
was  at  last  compelled  to  retreat.  He  still 
hoped,  however,  to  make  a  successful  stand 
against  the  enemy  at  the  batteries ;  but  on  ap 
proaching  them,  he  found,  to  his  mortification, 
that  they  had  been  retaken  by  a  superior  force 
of  British  troops,  to  whom,  finding  themselves 
entirely  surrounded  by  the  Indians,  the  greater 
part  of  his  men  reluctantly  surrendered  them 
selves.  The  brave  and  generous  Dudley  him 
self  paid  with  his  life  the  penalty  of  his  own 
neglect  and  thoughtlessness,  being  killed  in  this 
retreat,  as  were  Captain  Kilbreath,  the  second 
in  command  to  Captain  Combs,  (who  was  se 
verely  wounded),  and  several  other  gallant  and 
meritorious  officers.  Even  after  the  surrender 
of  our  troops,  the  Indians  still  continued  to 
tomahawk  and  scalp  them  without  mercy,  in 
the  presence  of  the  British  commander  and  his 
whole  army,  until  the  arrival  of  Tecumthe, 
who,  less  savage  than  Proctor,  instantly  put  a 
stop  to  this  barbarous  massacre. 

About  two  hundred  of  the  left  wing  of  Dud 
ley's  detachment  escaped  to  their  boats,  and 
succeeded  in  reaching  the  fort ;  but  more  than 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  141 

an  eighth  part  of  all  the  men  and  officers  en 
gaged  in  this  sanguinary  contest  were  killed, 
and  the  remainder  were  taken  prisoners.  Thus 
ended,  in  signal  defeat,  an  enterprise  ably  plan 
ned,  and  conducted  for  a  time  with  great  skill 
and  bravery,  and  which  promised  such  entire 
success.  But  it  must  be  evident  to  every  one, 
that  had  the  instructions  given  to  Dudley  been 
obeyed,  this  misfortune  could  not  have  occur 
red,  and  the  day  would  have  been  one  of  un 
clouded  success  and  triumph. 

Foiled  by  the  skilful  dispositions  of  Harri 
son,  and  by  the  battle,  or  rather  succession  of 
battles,  fought  on  the  fifth.  Proctor  was  com 
pelled  to  abandon  the  siege  of  Fort  Meigs — 
and  on  the  eighth  of  May,  he  broke  up  his 
camp,  and  retreated  in  disappointment  and  dis 
grace. 

Thus  terminated  the  glorious  defence  of 
Fort  Meigs.  Harrison,  soon  after,  left  Gene 
ral  Clay  in  command  of  that  important  post, 
and,  unwearied  in  his  exertions,  proceeded  to 
more  difficult  and  arduous  duties,  at  other  ex 
posed  stations.  .;- 

The  unceasing  efforts  of  the  British,  and 
the  restless  spirit  of  Tecumthe,  allowed  our 
troops  but  little  time  to  recover  from  their  se- 


142  LIFE  OF 

vere  fatigues.  In  less  than  two  months  after 
the  siege  of  Fort  Meigs  had  been  abandoned, 
the  Indians  assembled  a  formidable  body  of 
more  than  five  thousand  warriors,  under  their 
most  noted  chiefs,  and  again  invested  that  for 
tress.  On  receiving  this  intelligence,  General 
Harrison  immediately  removed  his  head-quar 
ters  to  Seneca  Town,  about  nine  miles  up  the 
Sandusky  river,  where  he  constructed  a  forti 
fied  camp.  From  this  position  the  general 
could  fall  back  for  the  protection  of  his  prin 
cipal  depot  at  Upper  Sandusky,  should  the 
enemy  endeavour  to  turn  his  flank  and  attack 
that  place ;  or  should  the  safety  of  Fort  Meigs 
require  it,  he  could  proceed  there  by  an  unfre 
quented  route,  and  cut  his  way  into  the  fort 
with  a  reinforcement.  As  soon  as  the  arrival 
of  additional  troops  should  render  his  force 
strong  enough  to  cope  with  that  of  the  enemy 
in  the  field,  he  intended  to  make  a  descent 
upon  them  from  this  favourable  situation,  and 
raise  the  siege.  The  enemy,  however,  re 
mained  before  Fort  Meigs  but  a  few  days.  On 
the  28th  of  July,  despairing  of  success,  they 
again  abandoned  the  siege  of  this  place.  The 
British  troops  embarked  and  sailed  round  to 
Sandusky  Bay,  while  a  large  body  of  their 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  143 

savage  allies  marched  across  the  swamps  of 
Portage  River  to  co-operate  with  them  in  a 
combined  attack  on  Fort  Stephenson,  a  tem 
porary  depot  at  Lower  Sandusky. 

At  this  time  the  enemy  had  nearly  seven 
thousand  men  in  the  field — two  thousand  of 
whom  were  British  regulars  and  Canadians, 
and  the  remainder  were  warriors  of  the  fiercest 
Indian  tribes.  The  army  under  General  Har 
rison  was  greatly  inferior  in  numbers,  and  it 
became  his  duty,  as  a  skilful  commander,  to 
withdraw  his  unimportant  outposts,  to  avoid 
risking  unnecessarily  the  loss  of  a  single  sol 
dier,  and  to  enable  him,  by  concentrating  his 
forces,  to  hold  the  enemy  in  check,  at  least,  if 
he  should  not  prove  strong  enough  to  give  him 
battle.  Fort  Stephenson  was  a  temporary  and 
unimportant  station,  and  so  commanded  by 
the  high  ground  in  its  neighbourhood,  as  to  be 
utterly  indefensible  against  heavy  artillery — 
and  such,  from  their  command  of  the  lake,  the 
British  could  easily  transport  to  its  attack. 
Fully  aware  of  this,  from  having  reconnoitred 
the  ground  in  person,  General  Harrison,  on 
learning  that  this  station  was  about  to  be  as 
sailed,  thought  it  proper  to  withdraw  the  gar 
rison.  He  accordingly  dispatched  an  order 


144  LIFE  OF 

to  Major  Croghan,  directing  him  to  abandon 
Fort  Stephenson,  and  repair,  if  practicable,  to 
head-quarters — which  were  still  at  Seneca 
Town,  nine  miles  distant.  This  order  was 
not  received  by  Major  Croghan  until  the  fol 
lowing  day — when  flying  parties  of  the  In 
dians  had  become  so  numerous  round  the  fort, 
that,  as  Croghan  himself  stated,  it  was  too  late 
to  carry  the  order  into  execution,  and  he  de 
cided  on  maintaining  the  place.  In  conse 
quence  of  this  disobedience  of  orders,  Colonel 
Wells  was  immediately  sent,  with  a  strong  es 
cort  of  cavalry,  to  take  command  of  Fort  Ste 
phenson,  and  Croghan  was  ordered  to  repair 
forthwith  to  head-quarters.  But  on  his  arrival 
there,  he  made  such  satisfactory  explanations 
to  the  commander-in-chief,  of  the  situation  of 
the  fort,  and  of  his  own  respectful  intentions, 
that  General  Harrison  at  once  reinstated  him 
in  his  command.  He  returned  to  his  duties 
the  following  morning,  and  on  the  same  day, 
July  31st,  this  station  was  invested  by  a  force 
of  thirteen  hundred  British  regulars  and  In 
dians.  They  attacked  the  fort  with  great 
vigour,  and  repeatedly  attempted  to  take  it  by 
assault — but  they  were  each  time  defeated,  and 
were  at  length  forced  to  abandon  their  attempt, 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  145 

and  retreat  in  confusion,  having  lost,  in  killed 
and  wounded,  nearly  as  many  as  the  entire 
number  of  the  gallant  spirits  who  defended 
the  fort. 

This  defence  of  a  position,  which  General 
Harrison  had  ordered  to  be  abandoned,  and 
the  fact  of  his  not  having  immediately  ad 
vanced  upon  the  enemy,  were  seized  upon, 
with  avidity,  by  the  ignorant  and  malicious 
among  his  political  opponents,  who  industri 
ously  circulated  the  falsest  statements  and 
most  perverted  misrepresentations,  in  relation 
to  these  occurrences.  But  fortunately,  the  plain 
truth  soon  became  so  well  known,  that  Gene 
ral  Harrison's  fair  fame  suffered  no  injury  from 
these  unfounded  calumnies.  So  many  gallant 
officers  as  well  as  honourable  and  high-mind 
ed  men  bore  witness,  of  their  own  accord,  to 
the  military  foresight  and  wisdom  of  his  mea 
sures,  that  no  slander  which  even  the  malice 
of  his  calumniators  could  devise,  ever  dark 
ened,  for  a  moment,  his  unsullied  reputation. 

We  lay  before  our  readers  the  following 
short  extracts  from  an  address  to  the  public, 
relative  to  this  affair,  which  was  voluntarily 
published  by  the  general,  field,  and  staff-offi 
cers,  of  General  Harrison's  army.  After  ex- 


146  LIFE  OF 

pressing  their  "  regret  and  surprise,  that  charges 
as  improper  in  form  as  in  substance,  should 
have  been  made  against  General  Harrison, 
during  the  recent  investment  of  Lower  San- 
dusky,"  they  go  on  to  say : — "  He  who  believes 
that  with  our  disposable  force,  and  under  the 
circumstance  which  then  occurred,  General 
Harrison  ought  to  have  advanced  upon  the 
enemy,  must  be  left  to  correct  his  opinion  in 
the  school  of  experience. 

"  On  a  review  of  the  course  then  adopted, 
we  are  decidedly  of  the  opinion,  that  it  was 
such  as  was  dictated  by  military  wisdom,  and 
by  a  due  regard  to  our  circumstances  and  to 
the  situation  of  the  enemy.  *  *  *  *  And 
with  a  ready  acquiescence,  beyond  the  mere 
claims  of  military  duty,  we  are  prepared  to 
obey  a  general,  whose  measures  meet  our  most 
deliberate  approbation,  and  merit  that  of  his 
country." 

The  chivalrous  and  noble-spirited  Croghan, 
who  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  above  ad 
dress,  about  the  same  time  published  another 
paper  on  this  subject,  dated  from  Lower  San- 
dusky,  in  which  he  says : — "  I  have,  with  much 
regret,  seen  in  some  of  the  public,  prints  such 
misrepresentations  respecting  my  refusal  to 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  147 

evacuate  this  post,  as  are  calculated  not  only 
to  injure  me  in  the  estimation  of  military  men, 
but  also  to  excite  unfavourable  impressions  as 
to  the  propriety  of  General  Harrison's  conduct 
relative  to  this  affair. 

"  His  character  as  a  military  man  is  too 
well  established  to  need  my  approbation  or 
support.  But  his  public  service  entitles  him 
at  least  to  common  justice.  This  affair  does 
not  furnish  cause  of  reproach.  If  public  opin 
ion  has  been  lately  misled  respecting  his  late 
conduct,  it  will  require  but  a  moment's  cool,' 
dispassionate  reflection,  to  convince  them  of 
its  propriety.  The  measures  recently  adopted 
by  him,  so  far  from  deserving  censure,  are  the 
dearest  proofs  of  his  keen  penetration  and  able 
generalship" 

We  have  dwelt  on  this  passage  in  the  life 
of  General  Harrison,  somewhat  longer  than 
is  consistent  with  the  brevity  and  condensed 
nature  of  this  work — but  the  political  oppo 
nents  of  General  Harrison  can  find  so  few 
points  in  his  whole  life,  that  afford  them  the 
slightest  apology  for  censure,  that  they  have 
been  driven  to  pervert  and  misrepresent  an  af 
fair  of  so  simple  a  nature  as  this,  and  one  that, 
in  truth,  entitled  him,  as  the  gallant  Croghan 
13 


148  LIFE  OF 

justly  says,  to  the  highest  commendation.  We 
have  therefore  thought  it  no  more  than  com 
mon  justice  to  him  and  to  our  readers,  to  lay 
before  them  this  plain  exposition  of  facts.  The 
wisest  and  best  actions  are  often  misunderstood 
and  perverted  by  the  ignorant  or  malicious. 
We  trust  and  believe  that  the  former  consti 
tute  the  larger  portion  of  those  who  have 
sought  to  shadow  the  fair  fame  of  General 
Harrison ;  but  while  mean  and  sordid  spirits 
exist,  envy  and  detraction  will  always  pursue 
exalted  merit.  Even  Washington,  the  Father 
of  our  Country,  was  intrigued  against  and  ca 
lumniated. 

Disappointed  in  their  hope  of  plunder,  and 
dispirited  by  the  numerous  defeats  they  had 
sustained,  the  savage  allies  of  the  British  had 
become  discontented;  the  second  siege  of 
Fort  Meigs  had  been  abandoned,  and  gradu 
ally  the  enemy  entirely  withdrew  from  our 
territory,  and  concentrated  their  forces  at 
Maiden,  their  principal  stronghold  in  Upper 
Canada.  It  will  thus  be  seen,  that  the  skill 
with  which  General  Harrison  had  conducted 
his  defensive  operations,  the  only  resource 
left  him  in  the  face  of  a  superior  foe,  had  been 
eminently  successful ;  and  had  not  only  pro- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  149 

tected  our  widely  extended  frontier,  but  had 
eventually  forced  the  enemy  to  retire,  morti 
fied  and  humbled  by  defeat,  from  our  country. 
During  the  whole  of  this  interesting  cam 
paign,  the  vigilance  and  the  intrepidity  of 
General  Harrison,  with  the  bravery  of  his  sol 
diers,  enabled  him  to  keep  a  far  superior  force 
of  the  enemy  in  check,  and  to  protect  the 
wide  extent  of  our  exposed  frontier.  Our 
forts  were  ably  defended,  and  our  troops  gal 
lantly  repelled  every  attack  of  the  enemy, 
except  in  some  few  instances,  where  they 
were  assailed  by  an  overwhelming  force. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Harrison  advises  the  construction  of  a  fleet  on  Lake 
Erie. — Perry's  Victory. — Embarkation  of  the  army. — 
Invasion  of  Canada. — Pursuit  of  the  enemy. — Battle 
of  the  Thames  and  capture  of  the  British  army. — 
Close  of  the  campaign. — Resignation  of  General 
Harrison. 

THE  activity  and  enterprise  of  General 
Harrison  did  not  long  permit  the  enemy  to 
rest,  after  their  retreat  from  our  territory* 
He  immediately  commenced  preparations  for 


150  LIFE  OF 

carrying  the  war  into  their  own  country,  and 
formed  his  plan  for  the  capture  of  Maiden, 
and  the  conquest  of  Upper  Canada. 

During  the  preceding  campaign,  in  his  let 
ters  to  the  War  Department,  General  Harri 
son  had  repeatedly  urged  the  great  import 
ance  of  obtaining  command  of  Lake  Erie, 
and  the  immediate  necessity  for  creating  a 
navy  for  that  purpose.  In  one  of  his  commu 
nications  he  remarks — "  Should  our  offensive 
operations  be  suspended  until  spring,  it  is  my 
decided  opinion  that  the  cheapest  and  most 
effectual  plan  will  be  to  obtain  command  of 
Lake  Erie.  This  being  once  effected,  every 
difficulty  will  be  removed.  An  army  of  four 
thousand  men  landed  on  the  north  side  of  the 
lake,  below  Maiden,  will  soon  reduce  that 
place,  re-take  Detroit,  and,  with  the  aid  of  tho 
fleet,  proceed  down  the  lake  to  co-operate 
with  the  army  from  Niagara."  In  several 
subsequent  letters,  he  again  strenuously  urged 
this  plan,  until  the  government  at  length  became 
convinced  of  the  importance  of  the  measure, 
and  determined  upon  its  adoption.  At  that 
time  we  were  not  in  possession  of  a  single 
armed  vessel  above  the  falls  of  the  Niagara. 
It  was  now,  however,  resolved  to  proceed 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  151 

vigorously  to  the  forming  a  fleet  on  Lake 
Erie,  and  the  gallant  Perry  was  sent  to  super 
intend  its  building,  and  to  take  the  command. 
No  effort  of  activity  or  skill  was  spared  to 
hurry  the  completion  and  equipment  of  the 
vessels;  and  early  in  August,  Commodore 
Perry  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding  that  he 
had  a  fleet  fitted  for  sea  and  ready  for  action, 
nearly  equal  in  force  to  that  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  2d  of  August,  he  commenced  get 
ting  his  heavier  vessels  over  the  bar  at  the 
mouth  of  the  harbour  at  Erie.  On  the  5th, 
he  sailed  for  Sandusky  Bay.  On  his  arrival 
there,  he  sent  a  dispatch  to  General  Harrison 
at  head-quarters,  to  obtain  a  company  of  sol 
diers  to  act  as  marines.  The  general  visited 
the  fleet  accompanied  by  several  of  his 
officers,  and  sent  on  board  a  picked  detach 
ment  of  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  men. 
Commodore  Perry  then  sailed  for  Maiden,  and 
used  every  endeavour  to  bring  the  British 
fleet  to  an  engagement.  His  attempts,  for 
some  time,  proved  ineffectual ;  but  at  last  he 
had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  them,  on  the 
10th  of  September,  and  fought  that  celebrated 
battle,  in  which,  after  a  severely-contested 
action,  he  succeeded  in  gaining  a  brilliant 
13* 


152  LIFE  OF 

victory  and  capturing  the  entire  fleet  of  the 
enemy.  Perry  immediately  dispatched  a 
messenger  to  General  Harrison,  with  the 
following  brief  but  very  acceptable  note. 

"  U.  5.  Brig  Niagara,  Sept.  Wth,  1813. 

DEAR  GENERAL  : — 

We  have  met  the  enemy  and  they  are 
ours — two  ships,  two  brigs,  one  schooner  and 
a  sloop. 

Yours  with  great  respect  and  esteem. 

OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY." 

By  a  happy  coincidence,  this  glorious  event 
occurred  just  about  the  time  when  General 
Harrison  had  matured  his  plans  for  the  inva 
sion  of  Canada.  On  the  27th  of  September, 
the  troops  embarked  at  Sandusky  Bay,  and 
advanced  towards  Maiden,  expecting  to  find 
the  British  and  Indians  encamped  there  in  full 
force.  But  upon  landing  on  the  Canada  shore, 
they  found  that  Proctor,  disheartened  by  his 
recent  defeats,  had  abandoned  that  stronghold, 
after  having  destroyed  the  fort  and  navy-yard, 
and  had  retreated  with  his  regulars  and  savage 
allies  to  Sandwich.  This  retreat  was  in  op 
position  to  the  counsel  of  Tecumthe,  who  ad- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  153 

vised  Proctor  to  remain  protected  by  his  for 
tifications,  and  fight  our  troops  as  they  landed. 
But  the  guilty  fears  of  Proctor  would  not 
suffer  him  to  accede  to  this  more  judicious  as 
well  as  gallant  counsel  of  his  savage  ally. 
Our  army  encamped  at  Maiden,  having  at 
last  driven  the  enemy  from  their  head-quar 
ters,  and  gained  possession  of  that  fortress, 
from  which  had  issued,  for  years  past,  those 
ruthless  bands  of  savages,  which  had  swept 
so  fiercely  over  our  extended  frontier,  leaving 
death  and  destruction  only  in  their  path. 

The  army  advanced  rapidly  in  pursuit  of 
the  enemy,  who  had  retreated  up  the  river 
Thames,  to  the  Moravian  Town — a  place 
which  is  destined  to  be  remembered  as  the 
battle-ground  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
and  decisive  actions  fought  during  the  war. 

On  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  October,  our 
troops  encamped  a  few  miles  above  the  forks 
of  the  river ;  near  which  place  after  a  slight 
skirmish  with  a  flying  party  of  Indians,  they 
gained  possession  of  a  large  quantity  of  mili 
tary  stores  and  munitions  of  war,  which  the 
enemy  had  abandoned  in  their  precipitate  re 
treat.  A  still  larger  amount  had  been  de 
stroyed,  to  prevent  their  falling  into  our  hands. 


154  LIFE  OF 

A  breastwork  was  then  thrown  up  around  the 
encampment,  which  proved  to  have  been  a 
necessary  precaution ;  as,  during  that  night, 
General  Proctor  and  Tecumthe  came  down 
the  river  and  reconnoitred  our  position,  with 
the  intention  of  making  an  attack  before  day ; 
but  on  seeing  its  strength,  and  the  care  taken 
to  guard  against  surprise,  they  were  discou 
raged  and  abandoned  their  scheme. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th,  the  troops  were 
under  arms  at  an  early  hour,  and  as  the  day 
dawned,  the  army  was  put  in  motion.  The 
mounted  regiment,  with  general  Harrison  and 
his  staff  at  their  head,  led  the  van;  and  the 
infantry  followed  as  expeditiously  as  possible, 
under  the  command  of  Governor  Shelby  of 
Kentucky,  a  time-honoured  and  distinguished 
veteran  of  the  revolution.  By  nine  o'clock, 
the  advance  reached  a  mill,  near  which  there 
is  a  rapid  in  the  river,  where  it  is  practicable 
to  ford  it  on  horseback;  and  at  this  place 
General  Harrison  intended  to  cross,  that  he 
might  reach  the  enemy,  who  were  known  to 
be  on  the  north  side.  Two  gunboats  and 
several  batteaux  laden  with  military  stores 
and  munitions  of  war,  together  with  several  pri 
soners,  had  already  been  captured  that  morning, 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  155 

and  at  the  mill  a  lieutenant  and  eight  privates 
were  taken,  from  whom  information  was  re 
ceived  that  the  enemy  had  determined  to  give 
us  battle  at  no  great  distance  from  that  place. 
The  infantry  soon  came  up  with  the  mounted 
men,  and  the  passage  of  the  river  was  effected 
by  twelve  o'clock.  Each  horseman  took  up 
one  of  the  infantry  behind  him,  and  the  re 
mainder  crossed  in  canoes.  As  soon  as  all 
the  troops  were  over,  the  line  of  march  was 
resumed  in  the  former  order.  At  every  place 
where  the  road  touched  a  bend  of  the  river, 
boats  and  canoes  were  found,  with  military 
stores,  clothing  and  provisions  which  the 
enemy  had  abandoned  in  their  precipitate 
retreat.  After  advancing  about  eight  miles, 
an  encampment  was  discovered,  which  Colo 
nel  Warburton  had  occupied  the  night  before 
with  a  part  of  the  British  troops ;  and  it  was 
ascertained  that  General  Proctor  had  reached 
the  Moravian  Town,  four  miles  from  this 
place,  with  a  detachment  on  the  preceding 
day.  As  it  was  now  certain  that  the  enemy 
were  nearly  overtaken,  the  general  directed 
the  advance  of  the  mounted  regiment  to 
hasten  their  march,  with  a  view  to  procure 
the  necessary  information  for  regulating  tho 


156  LIFE  OF 

movements  of  the  main  body.  When  they 
had  proceeded  about  two  miles,  they  captured 
a  British  wagoner,  who  informed  them  that 
the  enemy  were  lying  in  order  of  battle,  only 
about  three  hundred  yards  before  them,  wait 
ing  for  the  arrival  of  our  army.  Our  scouts 
confirmed  the  report  of  the  wagoner,  and  the 
troops  were  halted  and  formed  in  order  of 
battle. 

General  Proctor,  having  had  his  choice  of 
ground,  occupied  a  strong  position,  well  se 
lected  to  resist  the  progress  of  our  army.  It 
was  flanked  on  the  left  by  the  river  Thames, 
and  supported  by  artillery,  and  on  the  right, 
by  two  extensive  swamps,  running  nearly 
parallel  to  the  river  and  occupied  by  a  strong 
body  of  Indians.  The  British  regulars  were 
formed  in  open  order,  in  two  extended  lines. 
The  Indians  were  commanded  by  Tecumthe 
in  person.  Their  left  flank  was  posted  on  the 
isthmus  between  the  two  swamps,  and  their 
right  extended  a  considerable  distance  down 
the  principal  marsh. 

General  Harrison  drew  up  one  division  of 
his  infantry  in  a  double  line  reaching  from 
the  river  to  the  swamp,  opposite  to  Proctor's 
troops,  and  the  other  division  at  right  angles 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  157 

to  the  first,  with  its  front  extending  along  the 
swamp,  with  a  view  of  preventing  the  Indians 
from  turning  his  left  flank  and  attacking  him 
in  the  rear.  Johnson's  mounted  regiment  was 
placed  in  front  of  the  infantry. 

The  American  army  advanced  in  order 
of  battle,  and  the  reconnoitring  parties  soon 
brought  in  exact  intelligence  of  the  disposi 
tions  Proctor  had  made.  Harrison,  with  the 
rapid  decision  of  an  able  general,  saw  at  once 
the  egregious  error  of  his  opponent  in  forming 
his  regular  soldiers  in  extended  line,  and  in 
stantly  took  advantage  of  it.  Aware  that 
troops  formed  in  open  order  could  not  resist 
a  vigorous  charge  of  cavalry,  he  immediately 
ordered  Colonel  Johnson  to  form  his  regiment 
of  mounted  men,  and  dash  through  the  ene 
my's  line,  in  close  column.  This  charge  was 
rapidly  made,  and  with  the  most  brilliant  suc 
cess.  The  extended  and  weakened  line  of  the 
enemy  could  offer  but  a  feeble  resistance  to 
the  charge  of  these  gallant  troops,  who  dashed 
through  their  ranks,  with  overwhelming  im 
petuosity,  and  wheeling  to  the  right  and  left, 
began  to  pour  in  a  destructive  fire  upon  their 
rear.  Thrown  into  confusion  and  disheart 
ened  by  this  bold  and  unexpected  manoeuvre, 


158  LIFE  OF 

and  panic-struck  at  being  assailed  both  in 
front  and  rear,  the  British  threw  down  their 
arms  in  dismay,  and  surrendered  at  discre 
tion.  The  whole  army  was  captured,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  stragglers  only,  who 
escaped  by  an  early  flight  with  the  cowardly 
Proctor. 

The  contest  with  the  Indians  on  the  left, 
was  maintained  with  more  obstinacy.  They 
waited  until  our  columns  had  advanced  within 
a  few  paces  of  their  concealed  position,  when 
they  commenced  a  heavy  fire  which  cut  down 
nearly  the  whole  of  our  advanced  guard. 
Their  fire  was  warmly  returned  by  our 
troops,  who  formed  in  line,  and  for  a  while 
a  warm  conflict  was  sustained  with  severe 
execution  on  both  sides.  But  the  Indians 
were  finally  driven  from  their  coverts  by  a 
vigorous  charge,  and  forced  to  retreat  into 
the  outer  swamp  —  not  however,  until  they 
had  heard  of  the  entire  discomfiture  of  their 
allies,  and  that  their  leader,  Tecumthe,  had 
been  slain.  The  death  of  this  high-spirited  and 
distinguished  chief,  who  possessed  to  an  un 
usual  degree  all  the  nobler  qualities  of  the 
savage  warrior  in  his  better  days,  destroyed 
the  strength  of  the  northern  tribes  of  Indians 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  159 

by  breaking  that  bond  of  union,  which  his 
personal  influence  alone  had  created,  and 
which  therefore  terminated  with  his  exist 
ence,  never  again  to  be  renewed  to  so  for 
midable  an  extent. 

This  decisive  and  important  battle  was  thus 
fought  and  won,  in  a  space  of  time  almost 
incredibly  short,  and  with  a  very  trifling  loss 
only  on  our  side.  All  the  baggage  of  the 
enemy,  and  their  valuable  military  stores  and 
munitions  of  war,  together  with  the  official 
papers  of  Proctor,  fell  into  our  hands;  and 
several  pieces  of  brass  cannon,  which  had 
been  taken  from  the  British  in  our  revolu 
tionary  victories  at  Saratoga  and  Yorktown, 
but  which  Hull  had  shamefully  surrendered  at 
Detroit,  were  again  captured  from  our  ancient 
foe. 

The  united  force  of  the  British  regulars  and 
Indians  engaged  in  this  battle,  amounted  to 
more  than  2800.  The  number  of  our  troops 
was  less  than  2500 ;  and  these  were  principally 
militia  and  volunteers.  The  venerable  Gover 
nor  Shelby  commanded  the  Kentucky  volun 
teers  in  this  battle,  and  General  Cass,  our  pre 
sent  Minister  to  France,  and  the  heroic  Perry, 
acted  as  volunteer  aids  to  General  Harrison. 
14 


160  LIFE  OP 

This  brilliant  victory,  following  up  the  capture 
of  their  fleet  on  Lake  Erie  by  the  gallant  Per 
ry,  entirely  destroyed  the  force  of  the  enemy 
in  Upper  Canada,  and  put  an  end  to  the  war 
on  our  north-western  frontier. 

Upon  this,  as  well  as  former  expeditions, 
General  Harrison  adopted  a  rule,  on  all  occa 
sions,  to  favour  himself  in  nothing,  but  to  share 
equally  with  the  common  soldiers  the  fatigues 
and  hardships  of  the  campaign.  A  small  va 
lise  contained  all  his  baggage,  except  his  bed 
ding,  which  consisted  of  a  single  blanket  only, 
fastened  over  his  saddle;  and  even  this  he 
gave  to  Colonel  Evans,  a  British  officer,  who 
was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  in  this  bat 
tle.  Thirty-five  British  officers,  prisoners  of 
war,  supped  with  General  Harrison  on  the 
night  after  the  battle,  and  all  the  fare  he  had 
it  in  his  power  to  offer  them  was  fresh  beef, 
plainly  roasted  before  a  camp  fire,  without 
either  bread  or  salt.  This  had  been  the  food 
of  the  army  during  the  expedition,  and  the  ra 
tions  of  the  General  were  always  precisely 
those  of  the  soldiers.  On  every  occasion,  in 
deed,  he  made  it  a  point  to  set  an  example  of 
fortitude  and  patience  to  his  men,  and  to  share 
with  them  every  hardship,  difficulty,  and  dan- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  161 

ger.  Whether  encamped  or  marching,  the 
whole  army  was  regularly  under  arms  at  day 
break*;  and,  however  severe  the  weather,  he 
never  failed  to  be  present,  and,  indeed,  was 
generally  the  first,  officer  on  horseback  in  the 
whole  army. 

On  receiving  the  glorious  news  of  the  vic 
tory  of  the  Thames,  the  thanks  of  Congress 
were  expressed  to  General  Harrison  in  the 
warmest  manner — and  President  Madison  in 
his  message,  dated  on  the  7th  of  the  following 
December,  declared  that  "the  officer  com 
manding  the  North-western  army  had  forced 
the  enemy  to  a  general  action,  which  termi 
nated  in  the  capture  of  the  British  and  disper 
sion  of  the  savage  force — a  result  signally  hon 
ourable  to  Major-General  Harrison,  by  ichose 
military  talents  it  was  performed." 

Among  many  others,  whose  grateful  feelings 
found  utterance  on  this  occasion,  the  Hon. 
Langdon  Cheves  observed,  on  the  floor  of  Con 
gress,  that — "  The  victory  of  Harrison  was 
such  as  would  have  secured  to  a  Roman  gene 
ral,  in  the  best  days  of  the  Republic,  the  hon 
ours  of  a  triumph."  A  sentiment  which  was 
fully  responded  to  in  the  complimentary  no 
tices  which  he  received  from  every  part  of  the 


162  LIFE  OF 

union.  Simon  Snyder,  who  was  then  Gover 
nor  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  idol  of  the  de 
mocracy  of  that  state,  said  in  his  address  to 
the  Legislature,  on  this  occasion,  "  The  bless 
ings  of  thousands  of  women  and  children  res- 
cued  from  the  searing-knife  of  the  ruthless  sav 
age  of  the  wilderness,  and  from  the  still  more 
savage  Proctor,  REST  ON  HARRISON  and  his  gal 
lant  army."  But  the  feelings  that  prompted 
these  expressions  were  not  confined  to  those 
individuals,  who,  from  their  station,  were  more 
particularly  called  upon  to  notice  the  events 
of  the  war — they  appeared  rather  to  exist  uni 
versally  throughout  the  country. 

Our  army  continued  to  occupy  the  battle 
ground  for  two  days,  employed  in  burying  the 
dead  and  collecting  the  public  property  of  the 
enemy,  of  which  a  large  quantity  was  found 
at  different  places.  In  addition  to  the  artillery 
already  mentioned,  and  a  great  variety  of  mil 
itary  stores,  more  than  5000  stand  of  small- 
arms  were  captured  by  our  troops  or  destroy 
ed  by  the  enemy  during  this  expedition.  A 
large  number  of  the  latter  had  been  taken  from 
us  at  the  surrender  of  Detroit,  at  the  massa 
cre  of  the  River  Raisin,  and  at  Dudley's  de 
feat  ;  and  their  recapture  was  therefore  pecu- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  163 

liarly  grateful  to  our  troops,  and  more  espe 
cially  to  the  warm-hearted  Kentuckians,  many 
of  whom  joyfully  recognized  among  the  spoils 
the  favourite  weapons  of  their  old  comrades 
and  less  fortunate  fellow-soldiers. 

On  the  7th  of  October,  the  different  corps 
of  our  army  commenced  their  return  home, 
having  first  embarked  the  greater  part  of  the 
property  they  had  captured  in  boats  on  the 
Thames,  and  set  fire  to  the  Moravian  Town, 
a  small  village  occupied  chiefly  by  Delaware 
Indians,  who  professed  to  be  of  the  Moravian 
sect  of  religion.  On  the  10th,  all  the  troops 
arrived  with  their  prisoners  at  Sandwich. 

In  the  mean  time  General  Harrison  had  con 
cluded  an  armistice  with  the  Indians.  A  depu 
tation  of  the  Ottawas  and  Chippewas  had  sued 
for  peace,  which  the  general  granted  on  con 
dition  that  they  should  give  up  their  alliance 
with  the  British,  and  openly  declare  in  favour 
of  the  United  States,  and  that  they  should 
bring  in  their  families  as  hostages  for  their 
good  behaviour.  The  Miamies  and  the  Pot- 
tawatomies,  who  had  been  our  fiercest  oppo 
nents,  likewise  solicited  a  cessation  of  hos 
tilities,  on  the  same  conditions,  and  agreed  to 
deliver  up  all  their  prisoners  at  Fort  Wayne. 
14* 


164  LIFE  OF 

Disheartened  by  our  victories  on  Lake  Erie, 
and  at  the  Thames,  and  separated  from  the 
allies  who  had  given  them  all  their  supplies, 
they  were  now  glad  to  accept  our  friendship 
on  any  terms  that  would  save  them  from  ex 
termination  by  famine  or  the  sword. 

Having  thus  entirely  defeated  the  British 
and  subdued  the  Indians  in  Upper  Canada, 
General  Harrison  advanced  with  a  part  of  his 
army  to  the  Niagara  frontier,  and  thence  to 
Sackett's  Harbour  where  he  left  the  troops, 
and  proceeded  to  the  seat  of  government.  On 
his  way  thither,  he  passed  through  New  York 
and  Philadelphia ;  in  which  cities  he  was  re 
ceived,  by  the  whole  population,  with  the  most 
flattering  marks  of  public  honour  and  distinc 
tion.  After  the  necessary  delay  of  a  few  days 
at  Washington,  General  Harrison  proceeded 
to  Ohio,  where  important  duties  required  his 
presence. 

In  the  plan  for  the  ensuing  campaign,  to 
the  surprise  and  regret  of  the  public,  General 
Harrison  was  designated  for  a  service,  far 
inferior  to  that  which  he  had  a  right  to  ex 
pect.  Regardless  of  the  memorable  victories 
which  this  gallant  and  experienced  officer 
had  won,  and  unmindful  of  the  various  and 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  165 

important  services  which  he  had  rendered  to 
his  country,  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  noto 
rious  John  Armstrong,  saw  fit  to  assign  to 
him  the  command  of  a  district,  where  he 
would  Be  compelled  to  remain  inactive,  while 
others  were  appointed  to  those  more  arduous 
duties,  which  he  had  heretofore  fulfilled  with 
so  much  honour  to  himself,  and  to  the  nation. 
As  if  still  unsatisfied  with  this  egregious  insult 
which  he  had  offered  to  General  Harrison, 
the  Secretary  of  War,  on  the  25th  of  April, 
1814,  appointed  a  subordinate  officer  to  a 
separate  command  within  his  district,  and 
notified  him  to  that  effect.  On  the  receipt  of 
this  notification,  General  Harrison  instantly 
sent  in  his  resignation  to  the  Secretary  of 
War,  and  at  the  same  time  addressed  a  letter 
on  the  subject  to  President  Madison,  couched 
in  such  simple  yet  manly  language,  and  ex 
pressive  of  such  noble  sentiments,  that  we 
cannot  refrain  from  quoting  it, 

"  I  have  this  day,"  said  General  Harrison, 
"forwarded  to  the  Secretary  of  War  my 
resignation  of  the  commission  I  hold  in  the 
army. 

"  This  measure  has  not  been  determined  on, 
without  a  reference  to  all  the  reasons  which 


166  LIFE  OF 

should  influence  a  citizen  who  is  sincerely 
attached  to  the  honour  and  interests  of  his 
country,  who  believes  that  the  war  in  which 
we  are  engaged  is  just  and  necessary;  and 
that  the  crisis  requires  the  sacrifice  of  every 
private  consideration,  which  could  stand  in 
opposition  to  the  public  good.  But  after  giv 
ing  this  subject  a  most  mature  consideration, 
I  am  perfectly  convinced  that  my  retiring 
from  the  army  is  as  compatible  with  the 
claims  of  patriotism,  as  it  is  with  those  of  my 
family,  and  a  proper  regard  for  my  own  feel 
ings  and  honour. 

"  I  have  no  other  motive  for  writing  this 
letter,  than  to  assure  you,  that  my  resignation 
was  not  produced  by  any  diminution  of  the 
interest  which  I  have  always  taken  in  the 
success  of  your  administration,  or  of  respect 
and  attachment  for  your  person.  The  for 
mer  can  only  take  place  when  I  forget  the 
republican  principles  in  which  I  have  been 
educated,  and  the  latter,  when  I  shall  cease  to 
regard  those  feelings  which  must  actuate 
every  honest  man,  who  is  conscious  of  fa 
vours  that  it  is  out  of  his  power  to  repay." 

As  soon  as  Governor  Shelby  heard  of  the 
resignation  of  General  Harrison,  he  lost  no 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  167 

time  in  addressing  the  president  in  his  usual 
forcible  terms,  to  prevent  its  being  accept 
ed  ;  but  unfortunately  for  the  public  interests, 
the  president  was  then  on  a  visit  to  Virginia, 
to  which  place  the  letters  from  General  Har 
rison  and  Governor  Shelby  were  forwarded, 
and  that  of  the  latter  was  not  received  until 
after  Secretary  Armstrong,  without  the  pre 
vious  consent  of  the  president,  had  assumed  to 
himself  the  high  prerogative  of  accepting  the 
resignation.  The  president  expressed  his 
great  regret  that  the  letter  of  Governor 
Shelby  had  not  been  received  earlier,  as  in 
that  case  the  valuable  services  of  General 
Harrison  would  have  been  preserved  to  the 
nation  in  the  ensuing  campaign. 

In  this  resignation,  General  Harrison  dis 
played  the  true  patriotism  and  disinterested 
ness,  which  have  always  marked  his  conduct. 
He  would  cheerfully  have  devoted  his  ser 
vices  to  his  country,  even  in  an  appointment 
inferior  to  that  which  should  have  been  as 
signed  to  him  ;  but  he  was  too  high-principled 
to  retain  his  rank,  by  yielding  assent  to  a 
measure,  which  he  considered  to  be  subver 
sive  of  military  order  and  discipline;  and 
though  his  own  fortune  had  been  shattered  by 


168  LIFE  OF 

the  neglect  of  his  private  affairs,  for  the  bene 
fit  of  the  public,  and  it  would  therefore  have 
been  exceedingly  convenient  to  have  retained 
the  rank  and  pay  of  a  major  general ;  yet  he 
scorned  to  receive  the  emoluments  of  his 
office,  when  he  was  no  longer  permitted  to 
perform  its  duties  actively  and  honourably. 

It  would  be  difficult  at  this  period,  to  trace 
out  the  true  motives  that  induced  the  Secre 
tary  of  War  to  the  unjustifiable  course  he 
pursued  in  this  affair.  But  some  knowledge 
of  those  events  of  the  war  in  which  he  bore  a 
part,  with  a  little  insight  into  human  nature, 
would  suggest  that  the  leading  causes  which 
prompted  him,  wrere  the  envy  and  jealousy, 
which  a  narrow-minded  man  would  naturally 
feel,  on  contrasting  his  own  feeble  efforts,  and 
abortive  attempts,  with  the  consummate  skill, 
the  brilliant  victories,  and  the  almost  uniform 
successes  of  another.  That  he  had  acted  in 
an  arbitrary  and  unwarrantable  manner,  was 
afterwards  clearly  proved. — And  in  the  inves 
tigation  which  took  place  in  Congress  in  the 
winter  of  1816-17,  it  became  so  evident  that 
General  Harrison  had  been  treated  with  great 
injustice  by  the  war  department,  that  a  reso 
lution,  giving  him  a  gold  medal  and  the  thanks 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  169 

of  Congress,  was  passed,  with  but  one  dissent 
ing  voice  in  both  houses  of  Congress. 

The  leading  events  in  the  campaign  of 
1812-13, — the  gallant  defence  of  Fort  Meigs, 
and  the  decisive  victory  of  the  Thames,  are 
lasting  memorials  of  General  Harrison's  mili 
tary  genius.  Yet,  for  those  isolated  actions, 
he  deserves  far  less  praise  than  for  the  skilful 
operations  and  the  Fabian  policy,  which  led 
to  these  and  other  successes.  The  prudent 
care  and  indefatigable  exertions,  by  which  he 
provided  for  his  army  in  a  wild  and  almost 
impassable  country — the  promptness  and  un 
wearied  activity,  with  which  he  met  and  de 
feated  the  schemes  of  his  antagonists — and 
the  admirable  skill,  with  which  he  held  in 
check  an  enemy  far  superior  in  numbers,  and 
with  a  small  force  protected  an  extended  line 
of  frontier,  and  guarded  the  lives  and  property 
of  thousands  of  his  fellow-citizens,  betokened 
a  genius  of  the  highest  order,  with  a  vigorous 
mind  constantly  on  the  alert. 


170  LIFE  OF 


CHAPTER  X. 

Appointment  of  General  Harrison  as  Commissioner  to 
treat  with  the  Indians. — His  election  to  Congress. — 
Is  chosen  a  Senator  of  the  State  Legislature. — His 
election  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. — Is  ap 
pointed  Minister  to  Colombia. — His  Letter  to  Bolivar. 
— His  recall. — His  personal  appearance  and  private 
Character. — His  Letter  to  Harmar  Denny. 

SOON  after  the  resignation  of  General  Har 
rison,  in  the  summer  of  1814,  President  Madi 
son  evinced  an  unabated  confidence  in  his 
abilities  and  integrity  by  appointing  him  to 
treat  with  the  Indians,  in  conjunction  with  his 
old  companions  in  arms,  Governor  Shelby  and 
General  Cass.  In  the  following  year,  he  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  another  commission, 
appointed  to  treat  with  the  north-western  tribes. 
The  honourable  and  advantageous  treaties 
made  in  both  these  cases,  afforded  new  in 
stances  of  the  unfailing  success,  that  has  al 
ways  attended  General  Harrison's  negotia 
tions  with  the  Indians. 

In  1816,  he  was  elected,  by  a  large  majo 
rity,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  in  Congress,  from  Ohio.  During  the  fol 
lowing  session,  there  occurred  in  the  House 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  171 

of  Representatives  the  interesting  and  cele 
brated  debate  on  the  conduct  of  General  Jack 
son  in  the  Seminole  war — on  which  occasion, 
General  Harrison  delivered  an  able  and  elo 
quent  speech.  He  praised  General  Jackson 
for  his  gallantry;  defended  such  of  his  acts 
as  he  thought  right,  and  gave  him  credit  for 
patriotic  motives ;  but  he  voted  in  favour  of 
the  resolution  to  censure  him  for  the  unwar 
rantable  power  he  had  assumed  in  taking  pos 
session  of  the  Spanish  posts.  This  speech  and 
vote  were  never  forgiven  by  General  Jackson. 

General  Harrison  continued  to  serve  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States, 
greatly  to  his  own  honour  and  to  the  satisfac 
tion  of  his  constituents,  until  1819;  when,  on 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service,  he  was 
chosen  to  the  Senate  of  the  State  Legislature. 

In  1824,  General  Harrison  was  elected  a 
Senator  of  the  United  States ;  and  soon  after 
taking  his  seat  was  appointed  Chairman  of  the 
Military  Committee,  in  place  of  General  Jack 
son,  who  had  resigned.  While  serving  in  this 
high  station,  he  commanded  universal  respect. 
His  views  as  a  statesman  were  liberal  and  ex 
tended, — his  remarkable  readiness  in  debate 
soon  rendered  him  a  prominent  member, — 
15 


172  LIFE  OF 

and  the  nervous  and  impassioned  eloquence, 
and  classical  felicity  of  illustration,  with  which 
he  enforced  his  arguments,  gained  him  much 
influence. 

As  Chairman  of  the  Military  Committee, 
General  Harrison  introduced  a  bill  for  the 
prevention  of  desertion  in  the  army.  This 
object,  with  his  customary  and  generous  hu 
manity,  he  proposed  to  effect,  not  by  increas 
ing  the  punishment,  but  by  raising  the  moral 
character  of  the  army ;  by  elevating  the  grade 
of  the  non-commissioned  officer ;  by  increas 
ing  his  pay  and  responsibility  ;  and  by  hold 
ing  out  additional  inducements  to  the  common 
soldier  to  perform  his  duty  faithfully.  He 
likewise  devoted  himself  warmly  to  the  sub 
ject  of  military  pensions ;  and  endeavoured 
to  procure  the  passage  of  a  uniform  law  em 
bracing  the  cases  of  all  those  who  then  were, 
or  who  should  be  deserving  of  that  species  of 
honourable  reward  and  justice  from  their 
country.  His  efforts,  on  this  occasion,  in  fa 
vour  of  the  surviving  soldiers  of  the  revolu 
tion,  will  not  soon  be  forgotten  by  the  de 
scendants  of  those  heroes. 

In  1828,  General  Harrison  was  appointed 
by  President  Adams,  envoy  extraordinary  and 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  173 

minister  plenipotentiary  to  -the  Republic  of  Co 
lombia.  He  accepted  this  appointment,  and 
proceeding  immediately  upon  his  mission,  land 
ed  at  Maracaybo  on  the  22d  of  December,  in 
that  year,  and  thence  repaired  to  Bogota,  the 
capital  of  Colombia.  He  was  received  with 
the  most  flattering  demonstrations  of  respect ; 
but  his  liberal  ideas,  his  stern  integrity,  and 
the  plain  republican  simplicity  of  his  dress  and 
manners,  were  too  strongly  in  contrast  with 
the  arbitrary  opinions,  and  the  ostentatious 
display  of  the  Court  at  Bogota,  to  permit  him 
long  to  remain  a  favourite  with  the  public  offi 
cers  and  the  courtiers  of  the  Colombian  Go 
vernment.  They  soon  began  to  fear  that  the 
people  would  perceive  the  difference  between 
a  real  and  a  pretended  patriot,  and  that  a  com 
parison  so  disadvantageous  to  themselves 
might  perhaps  seriously  interfere  with  their 
grasping  ambition  for  the  future.  But  though 
too  honest  and  pure-minded  to  be  a  favourite 
at  this  court,  General  Harrison's  intelligence, 
his  strict  attention  to  the  duties  of  his  office, 
and  his  manly  and  gallant  bearing  commanded 
universal  respect. 

The  Republic  of  Colombia  was  at  that  time 
in  a   very  deplorable   condition;  the  people 


174  LIFE  OF 

were  ignorant  of  their  rights,  and  almost  in  a 
state  of  anarchy ;  and  Bolivar  was  apparently 
about  to  assume  the  despotic  power  of  a  mili 
tary  dictator.  Shocked  at  this  state  of  things, 
General  Harrison,  with  the  frankness  of  an 
old  soldier,  wrote  his  celebrated  letter  to  Boli 
var,  not  in  his  diplomatic  capacity,  but  as  a 
personal  friend,  and  addressed  him  in  a  strain 
of  noble  and  thrilling  eloquence  which  has 
rarely  been  equalled.  So  chaste  and  vigorous 
is  the  language  of  this  letter,  and  so  deeply  is 
it  imbued  with  the  purest  and  most  exalted 
sentiments  of  republican  freedom,  that,  limited 
as  our  space  is,  we  cannot  refrain  from  giving 
it  to  our  readers  entire. 

"Bogota,  27th  September,  1829. 
SIR:— 

If  there  is  any  thing  in  the  style,  the  mat 
ter,  or  the  object,  of  this  letter,  which  is  cal 
culated  to  give  offence  to  your  Excellency,  I 
am  persuaded  you  will  readily  forgive  it, 
when  you  reflect  on  the  motives  which  in 
duced  me  to  write  it.  An  old  soldier  could 
possess  no  feelings  but  those  of  the  kindest 
character,  towards  one  who  has  shed  so  much 
lustre  on  the  profession  of  arms ;  rior  can  a 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  175 

citizen  of  the  country  of  Washington  cease 
to  wish  that,  in  Bolivar,  the  world  might  be 
hold  another  instance  of  the  highest  military 
attainments  united  with  the  purest  patriotism, 
and  the  greatest  capacity  for  civil  govern 
ment. 

Such,  sir,  have  been  the  fond  hopes,  not 
only  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  but 
of  the  friends  of  liberty  throughout  the  world. 
I  will  not  say  that  your  Excellency  has  formed 
projects  to  defeat  these  hopes.  But  there  is 
no  doubt,  that  they  have  not  only  been  formed, 
but  are,  at  this  moment,  in  progress  to  matu 
rity,  and  openly  avowed  by  those  who  possess 
your  entire  confidence.  I  will  not  attribute  to 
these  men  impure  motives ;  but  can  they  be 
disinterested  advisers'?  Are  they  not  the  very 
persons  who  will  gain  most  by  the  proposed 
change  ? — who  will,  indeed,  gain  all  that  is  to 
be  gained,  without  furnishing  any  part  of  the 
equivalent  ?  That  that,  the  price  of  their  fu 
ture  wealth  and  honours,  is  to  be  furnished 
exclusively  by  yourself?  And  of  what  does 
it  consist?  Your  great  character.  Such  a 
one,  that,  if  a  man  were  wise,  and  possessed 
of  the  empire  of  the  Caesars  in  its  best  days, 
he  would  give  all  to  obtain.  Are  you  pre- 
15* 


176  LIRE  OF 

pared  to  make  this  sacrifice,  for  such  an  ob 
ject  1 

I  am  persuaded  that  those  who  advocate 
these  measures,  have  never  dared  to  induce 
you  to  adopt  them,  by  any  argument  founded 
on  your  personal  interests ;  and  that,  to  suc 
ceed,  it  would  be  necessary  to  convince  you 
that  no  other  course  remained,  to  save  the 
country  from  the  evils  of  anarchy.  This  is 
the  question,  then,  to  be  examined. 

Does  the  history  of  this  country,  since  the 
adoption  of  the  constitution,  really  exhibit  un 
equivocal  evidence  that  the  people  are  unfit  to 
be  free  ?  Is  the  exploded  opinion  of  a  Euro 
pean  philosopher,  of  the  last  age,  that  "in  the 
new  hemisphere,  man  is  a  degraded  being," 
to  be  renewed,  and  supported  by  the  example 
of  Colombia?  The  proofs  should,  indeed,  be 
strong,  to  induce  an  American  to  adopt  an 
opinion  so  humiliating. 

Feeling  always  a  deep  interest  in  the  suc 
cess  of  the  revolutions  in  the  late  Spanish 
America,  I  have  never  been  an  inattentive  ob 
server  of  events  pending,  and  posterior  to  the 
achievement  of  its  independence.  In  these 
events,  I  search  in  vain  for  a  single  fact  to 
show  that,  in  Colombia  at  least,  the  state  of 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  177 

society  is  unsuited  to  the  adoption  of  a  free 
government.  Will  it  be  said  that  a  free  go 
vernment  did  exist,  but,  being  found  inade 
quate  to  the  objects  for  which  it  had  been  in 
stituted,  it  has  been  superseded  by  one  of  a 
different  character,  with  the  concurrence  of  a 
majority  of  the  people  ? 

It  is  the  most  difficult  thing  in  the  world 
for  me  to  believe  that  a  people  in  the  posses 
sion  of  their  rights  as  freemen,  would  ever  be 
willing  to  surrender  them,  and  submit  them 
selves  to  the  will  of  a  master.  If  any  such 
instances  are  on  record,  the  power  thus  trans 
ferred  has  been  in  a  moment  of  extreme  pub 
lic  danger,  and  then  limited  to  a  very  short 
period.  I  do  not  think  that  it  is  by  any  means 
certain,  that  the  majority  of  the  French  peo 
ple  favoured  the  elevation  of  Napoleon  to  the 
throne  of  France.  But,  if  it  were  so,  how 
different  were  the  circumstances  of  that  coun 
try  from  those  of  Colombia,  when  the  consti 
tution  of  Cucuta  was  overthrown !  At  the 
period  of  the  elevation  of  Napoleoif  to  the 
first  consulate,  all  the  powers  of  Europe  were 
the  open  or  secret  enemies  of  France — civil 
war  raged  within  her  borders  ;  the  hereditary 
king  possessed  many  partisans  in  every  pro- 


178  LIFE  OF 

vince ;  the  people,  continually  betrayed  by  the 
factions  which  murdered  and  succeeded  each 
other,  had  imbibed  a  portion  of  their  ferocity, 
and  every  town  and  village  witnessed  the  in 
discriminate  slaughter  of  both  men  and  wo 
men,  of  all  parties  and  principles.  Does,  the 
history  of  Colombia,  since  the  expulsion  of 
the  Spaniards,  present  any  parallel  to  these 
scenes  ?  Her  frontiers  have  been  nevei  seri 
ously  menaced — no  civil  war  raged — not  a 
partisan  of  the  former  government  was  to  be 
found  in  the  whole  extent  of  her  territory — 
no  factions  contended  with  each  other  for  the 
possession  of  power;  the  executive  govern 
ment  remained  in  the  hands  of  those  to  whom 
it  had  been  committed  by  the  people,  in  a  fail- 
election.  In  fact,  no  people  ever  passed  from 
under  the  yoke  of  a  despotic  government,  to 
the  enjoyment  of  entire  freedom,  with  less  dis 
position  to  abuse  their  newly  acquired  power, 
than  those  of  Colombia.  They  submitted,  in 
deed,  to  a  continuance  of  some  of  the  most 
arbitrary  and  unjust  features  w;hich  distin 
guished  the  former  government.  If  there  was 
any  disposition,  on  the  part  of  the  great  mass 
of  the  people,  to  effect  any  change  in  the  ex 
isting  order  of  things ;  if  the  Colombians  act 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  179 

from  the  same  motives  and  upon  the  same 
principles  which  govern  mankind  elsewhere, 
and  in  all  ages,  they  would  have  desired  to 
take  from  the  government  a  part  of  the  power, 
which,  in  their  inexperience,  they  had  confided 
to  it.  The  monopoly  of  certain  articles  of 
agricultural  produce,  and  the  oppressive  duty 
of  the  Alcavala,  might  have  been  tolerated, 
until  the  last  of  their  tyrants  were  driven  from 
the  country.  But  when  peace  was  restored, 
when  not  one  enemy  remained  within  its  bor 
ders,  it  might  reasonably  have  been  supposed 
that  the  people  would  have  desired  to  abolish 
these  remains  of  arbitrary  government,  and 
substitute  for  them  some  tax  more  equal  and 
accordant  with  republican  principles. 

On  the  contrary,  it  is  pretended  that  they 
had  become  enamoured  with  these  despotic 
measures,  and  so  disgusted  with  the  freedom 
they  did  enjoy,  that  they  were  more  than  wil 
ling  to  commit  their  destinies  to  the  uncon 
trolled  will  of  your  Excellency.  Let  me 
assure  you,  sir,  that  these  assertions  will  gain 
no  credit  with  the  present  generation,  or  with 
posterity.  They  will  demand  the  facts  which 
induced  a  people,  by  no  means  deficient  in 
intelligence,  so  soon  to  abandon  the  principles 


180  LIFE  OF 

for  which  they  had  so  gallantly  fought,  and 
tamely  surrender  that  liberty,  which  had  been 
obtained  at  the  expense  of  so  much  blood. 
And  what  facts  can  be  produced  ?  It  cannot 
be  said  that  life  and  property  were  not  as  well 
protected  under  the  republican  government, 
as  they  have  ever  been ;  nor  that  there  existed 
any  opposition  to  the  constitution  and  laws, 
too  strong  for  the  ordinary  powers  of  the  go 
vernment  to  put  down. 

If  the  insurrection  of  General  Paez,  in  Ve 
nezuela,  is  adduced,  I  would  ask,  by  what 
means  was  he  reduced  to  obedience  ?  Your 
Excellency,  the  legitimate  head  of  the  repub 
lic,  appeared,  and,  in  a  moment,  all  opposition 
ceased,  and  Venezuela  was  restored  to  the 
republic.  But,  it  is  said,  that  this  was  effected 
by  your  personal  influence,  or  the  dread  of 
your  military  talents,  and  that,  to  keep  Gene 
ral  Paez,  and  other  ambitious  chiefs,  from 
dismembering  the  republic,  it  was  necessary 
to  invest  your  Excellency  with  the  extraordi 
nary  powers  you  possess.  There  would  be 
some  reason  in  this,  if  you  had  refused  to  act 
without  these  powers;  or,  having  acted  as 
you  did,  you  had  been  unable  to  accomplish 
any  thing  without  them.  But  you  succeeded 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  181 

completely,  and  there  can  be  no  possible  rea 
son  assigned,  why  you  would  not  have  suc 
ceeded,  with  the  same  means,  against  any 
future  attempt  of  General  Paez,  or  any  other 
general. 

There  appears,  however,  to  be  one  senti 
ment,  in  which  all  parties  unite ;  that  is,  that, 
as  matters  now  stand,  you  alone  can  save  the 
country  from  ruin,  at  least,  from  much  ca 
lamity.  They  differ,  however,  very  widely, 
as  to  the  measures  to  be  taken  to  put  your 
Excellency  in  the  way  to  render  this  impor 
tant  service.  The  lesser,  and  more  interested 
party,  is  for  placing  the  government  in  your 
hands  for  life ;  either  with  your  present  title, 
or  with  one  which,  it  must  be  confessed,  bet 
ter  accords  with  the  nature  of  the  powers  to 
be  exercised.  If  they  adopt  the  less  offensive 
title,  and  if  they  weave  into  their  system  some 
apparent  checks  to  your  will,  it  is  only  for  the 
purpose  of  masking,  in  some  degree,  their  real 
object ;  which  is  nothing  short  of  the  establish 
ment  of  a  despotism.  The  plea  of  necessity, 
that  eternal  argument  of  all  conspirators,  an 
cient  or  modern,  against  the  rights  of  man 
kind,  will  be  resorted  to,  to  induce  you  to 
accede  to  their  measures;  and  the  unsettled 


182  LIFE  OF 

state  of  the  country,  which  has  been  design 
edly  produced  by  them,  will  be  adduced  as 
evidence  of  that  necessity. 

There  is  but  one  way  for  your  Excellency 
to  escape  from  the  snares  which  have  been  so 
artfully  laid  to  entrap  you,  and  that  is,  to  stop 
short  in  the  course  which,  unfortunately,  has 
been  already  commenced.  Every  step  you 
advance,  under  the  influence  of  such  councils, 
will  make  retreat  more  difficult,  until  it  will 
become  impracticable.  You  will  be  told  that 
the  intention  is  only  to  vest  you  with  authority 
to  correct  what  is  wrong  in  the  administration, 
and  to  put  down  the  factions,  and  that,  wrhen 
the  country  once  enjoys  tranquillity,  the  go 
vernment  may  be  restored  to  the  people. 
Delusive  will  be  the  hopes  of  those  who  rely 
upon  this  declaration.  The  promised  hour  of 
tranquillity  will  never  arrive.  If  events  tended 
to  produce  it,  they  would  be  counteracted  by 
the  government  itself.  It  was  the  strong  re 
mark  of  a  former  President  of  the  United 
States,  that,  "  Sooner  will  the  lover  be  con 
tented  with  the  first  smiles  of  his  mistress, 
than  a  government  cease  to  endeavour  to  pre 
serve  and  extend  its  powers."  With  whatever 
reluctance  your  Excellency  may  commence 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  183 

the  career ;  with  whatever  disposition  to  aban 
don  it,  when  the  objects  for  which  it  was  com 
menced  have  been  obtained ;  when  once  fairly 
entered,  you  will  be  borne  along  by  the  irre 
sistible  force  of  pride,  habit  of  command,  and, 
indeed,  of  self-preservation,  and  it  will  be  im 
possible  to  recede. 

But,  it  is  said,  that  it  is  for  the  benefit  of 
the  people  that  the  proposed  change  is  to  be 
made ;  and  that  by  your  talents  and  influence, 
alone,  aided  by  unlimited  power,  the  ambi 
tious  chiefs  in  the  different  departments  are  to 
be  restrained,  and  the  integrity  of  the  republic 
preserved.  I  have  said,  and  I  most  sincerely 
believe,  that,  from  the  state  into  which  the 
country  has  been  brought,  you  alone  can 
preserve  it  from  the  horrors  of  anarchy.  But 
I  cannot  conceive  that  any  extraordinary 
powers  are  necessary.  The  authority  to  see 
that  the  laws  are  executed ;  to  call  out  the 
strength  of  the  country,  to  enforce  their  exe 
cution,  is  all  that  is  required,  and  is  what  is 
possessed  by  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  every  other  republic; 
and  is  what  was  confided  to  the  executive, 
by  the  constitution  of  Cucuta.  Would  your 
talents  or  your  energies  be  impaired  in  the 
16 


184  LIFE  OF 

council,  or  the  field,  or  your  influence  less 
ened,  when  acting  as  the  head  of  a  republic  ? 
I  propose  to  examine,  very  briefly,  the  re 
sults  which  are  likely  to  flow  from  the  pro 
posed  change  of  government:  1st,  in  relation 
to  the  country ;  and  2d,  to  yourself,  personally. 
Is  the  tranquillity  of  the  country  to  be  secured 
by  it?  Is  it  possible  for  your  Excellency  to 
believe,  that  when  the  mask  has  been  thrown 
off,  and  the  people  discover  that  a  despotic 
government  has  been  fixed  upon  them,  they 
will  quietly  submit  to  it  ?  Will  they  forget 
the  pass-word  which,  like  the  cross  of  fire, 
was  the  signal  for  rallying  to  oppose  their  for 
mer  tyrants  ?  Will  the  virgins,  at  your  bid 
ding,  cease  to  chaunt  the  songs  of  liberty, 
which  so  lately  animated  the  youth  to  vic 
tory?  Was  the  patriotic  blood  of  Colombia 
all  expended  in  the  fields  of  Vargas,  Bayaca, 
and  Carebobo  ?  The  schools  may  cease  to 
enforce  upon  their  pupils  the  love  of  country, 
drawn  from  the  examples  of  Cato  and  the 
Bruti,  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton;  but  the 
glorious  example  of  patriotic  devotion,  ex 
hibited  in  your  own  hacienda,  will  supply 
their  place.  Depend  on  it,  sir,  that  the  mo 
ment  which  shall  announce  the  continuance 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  185 

of  arbitrary  power,  in  your  hands,  will  be  the 
commencement  of  commotions  which  will 
require  all  your  talents  and  energies  to  sup 
press.  You  may  succeed.  The  disciplined 
army,  at  your  disposal,  may  be  too  powerful 
for  an  unarmed,  undisciplined,  and  scattered 
population;  but  one  unsuccessful  effort  will 
not  content  them,  and  your  feelings  will  be 
eternally  racked  by  being  obliged  to  make 
war  upon  those  who  have  been  accustomed 
to  call  you  their  father,  and  to  invoke  bless 
ings  on  your  head,  and  for  no  cause  but  their 
adherence  to  principles  which  you  yourself 
had  taught  them  to  regard  more  than  their 
lives. 

If  by  the  strong  government  which  the  ad 
vocates  for  the  proposed  change  so  strenuously 
recommend,  one  without  responsibility  is  in 
tended,  which  may  put  men  to  death,  and  im 
mure  them  in  dungeons,  without  trial,  and  one 
where  the  army  is  every  thing,  and  the  people 
nothing,  I  must  say,  that,  if  the  tranquillity  of 
Colombia,  is  to  be  preserved  in  this  way,  the 
wildest  anarchy  would  be  preferable.  Out  of 
that  anarchy  a  better  government  might  arise ; 
but  the  chains  of  military  despotism  once  fas- 


186  LIFE  OF 

tened  upon  a  nation,  ages  might  pass  away 
before  they  could  be  shaken  off. 

But  I  contend  that  the  strongest  of  all  go 
vernments  is  that  which  is  most  free.  We 
consider  that  of  the  United  States  as  the 
strongest,  precisely  because  it  is  the  most 
free.  It  possesses  the  faculties,  equally  to 
protect  itself  from  foreign  force  or  internal 
convulsion.  In  both,  it  has  been  sufficiently 
tried.  In  no  country  upon  earth,  would  an 
armed  opposition  to  the  laws  be  sooner  or 
more  effectually  put  down.  Not  so  much  by 
the  terrors  of  the  guillotine  and  the  gibbet,  as 
from  the  aroused  determination  of  the  nation, 
exhibiting  their  strength,  and  convincing  the 
factious  that  their  cause  was  hopeless.  No, 
sir,  depend  upon  it,  that  the  possession  of  ar 
bitrary  power,  by  the  government  of  Colom 
bia,  will  not  be  the  means  of  securing  its  tran 
quillity;  nor  will  the  danger  of  disturbances 
solely  arise  from  the  opposition  of  the  people. 
The  power,  and  the  military  force  which  it 
will  be  necessary  to  put  in  the  hands  of  the 
governors  of  the  distant  provinces,  added  to 
the  nature  of  the  country,  will  continually  pre 
sent  to  those  officers  the  temptation,  and  the 
means  of  revolt. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  187 

Will  the  proposed  change  restore  prosperity 
to  the  country  ?  With  the  best  intentions  to 
do  so,  will  you  be  able  to  recall  commerce  to 
its  shores  and  give  new  life  to  the  drooping 
state  of  agriculture  ?  The  cause  of  the  con 
stant  decline,  in  these  great  interests,  cannot 
be  mistaken.  It  arises  from  the  fewness  of 
those  who  labour,  and  the  number  of  those 
who  are  to  be  supported  by  that  labour.  To 
support  a  swarm  of  luxurious  and  idle  monks, 
and  an  army  greatly  disproportioned  to  the 
resources  of  the  country,  with  a  body  of  offi 
cers,  in  a  tenfold  degree  disproportioned  to 
the  army,  every  branch  of  industry  is  op 
pressed  with  burdens  which  deprive  the  inge 
nious  man  of  the  profits  of  his  ingenuity,  and 
the  labourer  of  his  reward.  To  satisfy  the 
constant  and  pressing  demands  which  are 
made  upon  it,  the  treasury  seizes  upon  every 
thing  within  its  grasp — destroying  the  very 
germ  of  future  prosperity.  Is  there  any  pros 
pect  that  these  evils  will  cease  with  the  pro 
posed  change?  Can  the  army  be  dispensed 
with  ?  Will  the  influence  of  the  monks  be  no 
longer  necessary?  Believe  me,  sir,  that  the 
support  which  the  government  derives  from 
16* 


188  LIFE  OF 

both  these  sources,  will  be  more  than  ever 
requisite. 

But  the  most  important  inquiry  is,  the  effect 
which  this  strong  government  is  to  have  upon 
the  people  themselves.  Will  it  tend  to  im 
prove  and  elevate  their  character,  and  fit  them 
for  the  freedom  which  it  is  pretended  is  ulti 
mately  to  be  bestowed  upon  them?  The 
question  has  been  answered  from  the  age  of 
Homer.  Man  does  not  learn  under  oppres 
sion  those  noble  qualities  and  feelings  which 
fit  him  for  the  enjoyment  of  liberty.  Nor  is 
despotism  the  proper  school  in  which  to  ac 
quire  the  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  re 
publican  government.  A  government  whose 
revenues  are  derived  from  diverting  the  very 
sources  of  wealth  from  its  subjects,  will  not 
find  the  means  of  improving  the  morals  and 
enlightening  the  minds  of  the  youth,  by  sup 
porting  the  systems  of  liberal  education ;  and, 
if  it  could,  it  would  not. 

In  relation  to  the  effect  which  this  invest 
ment  of  power  is  to  have  upon  your  happiness 
and  your  fame,  will  the  pomp  and  glitter  of  a 
court,  and  the  flattery  of  venal  courtiers,  re 
ward  you  for  the  troubles  and  anxieties 
attendant  upon  the  exercise  of  sovereignty, 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  189 

every  where,  and  those  which  will  flow  from 
your  peculiar  situation  T  Or  power,  supported 
by  the  bayonet,  for  that  willing  homage  which 
you  were  wont  to  receive  from  your  fellow- 
citizens  ?  The  groans  of  a  dissatisfied  and 
oppressed  people  will  penetrate  the  inmost 
recesses  of  your  palace,  and  you  will  be  tor 
tured  by  the  reflection,  that  you  no  longer 
possess  that  place  in  their  affections,  which 
was  once  your  pride  and  your  boast,  and 
which  would  have  been  your  solace  under 
every  reverse  of  fortune.  Unsupported  by 
the  people,  your  authority  can  be  maintained, 
only,  by  the  terrors  of  the  sword  and  the  scaf 
fold.  And  have  these  ever  been  successful 
under  similar  circumstances  ?  Blood  may 
smother,  for  a  period,  but  can  never  extin 
guish  the  fire  of  liberty,  which  you  have  con 
tributed  so  much  to  kindle,  in  the  bosom  of 
every  Colombian. 

I  will  not  urge,  as  an  argument,  the  per 
sonal  dangers  to  which  you  will  be  exposed. 
But  I  will  ask  if  you  could  enjoy  life,  which 
would  be  preserved  by  the  constant  execution 
of  so  many  human  beings — your  countrymen, 
your  former  friends,  and  almost  your  wor 
shippers.  The  pangs  of  such  a  situation  will 


190  LIFE  OF 

be  made  more  acute,  by  reflecting  on  the  hal 
lowed  motive  of  many  of  those  who  would 
aim  their  daggers  at  your  bosom ; — that,  like 
the  last  of  the  Romans,  they  would  strike, 
not  from  hatred  to  the  man,  but  love  to  the 
country. 

From  a  knowledge  of  your  own  disposition, 
and  present  feelings,  your  Excellency  will  not 
be  willing  to  believe,  that  you  could  ever  be 
brought  to  commit  an  act  of  tyranny,  or  even 
to  execute  justice  with  unnecessary  rigour. 
But  trust  me,  sir,  that  there  is  nothing  more 
corrupting,  nothing  more  destructive  of  the 
noblest  and  finest  feelings  of  our  nature,  than 
the  exercise  of  unlimited  power.  The  man 
who,  in  the  beginning  of  such  a  career,  might 
shudder  at  the  idea  of  taking  away  the  life  of 
a  fellow-being,  might  soon  have  his  conscience 
so  seared  by  the  repetition  of  crime,  that  the 
agonies  of  his  murdered  victims  might  become 
music  to  his  soul,  and  the  drippings  of  his 
scaffold  afford  "  blood  enough  to  swim  in." 
History  is  full  of  such  examples. 

From  this  disgusting  picture,  permit  me  to 
call  the  attention  of  your  Excellency  to  one 
of  a  different  character.  It  exhibits  you  as 
the  constitutional  chief  magistrate  of  a  free 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  191 

people,  giving  to  their  representatives  the  influ 
ence  of  your  great,  name  and  talents,  to  reform 
the  abuses  which,  in  a  long  reign  of  tyranny 
and  misrule,  have  fastened  upon  every  branch 
of  the  administration.  The  army,  and  its 
swarm  of  officers,  reduced  within  the  limits 
of  real  usefulness,  placed  on  the  frontiers,  and 
no  longer  permitted  to  control  public  opinion, 
and  be  the  terror  of  the  peaceful  citizen.  By 
the  removal  of  this  incubus  from  the  treasury, 
and  the  establishment  of  order,  responsibility, 
and  economy,  in  the  expenditures  of  the  go 
vernment,  it  would  soon  be  enabled  to  dispense 
with  the  odious  monopolies,  and  the  duty  of 
the  Mcavala,  which  have  operated  with  so 
malign  an  effect  upon  commerce  and  agricul 
ture,  and,  indeed,  upon  the  revenues  which 
they  were  intended  to  augment.  No  longer 
oppressed  by  these  shackles,  industry  would 
everywhere  revive :  the  farmer  and  the  arti 
san,  cheered  by  the  prospect  of  ample  reward 
for  their  labour,  would  redouble  their  exer 
tions  :  foreigners,  with  their  capital  and  skill 
in  the  arts,  would  crowd  hither,  to  enjoy  the 
advantages  which  would  scarcely  elsewhere 
be  found:  and  Colombia  would  soon  exhibit 
the  reality  of  the  beautiful  fiction  of  Fenelon — 


192  LIFE  OF 

Salentum  rising  from  misery  and  oppression 
to  prosperity  and  happiness,  under  the  coun 
cils  and  direction  of  the  concealed  goddess. 

What  objection  can  be  urged  against  this 
course?  Can  any  one,  acquainted  with  the 
circumstances  of  the  country,  doubt  its  suc 
cess  in  restoring  and  maintaining  tranquillity  ? 
The  people  would  certainly  not  revolt  against 
themselves ;  and  none  of  the  chiefs  who  are 
supposed  to  be  factiously  inclined,  would 
think  of  opposing  the  strength  of  the  nation, 
when  directed  by  your  talents  and  authority. 
But  it  is  said,  that  the  want  of  intelligence 
amongst  the  people  unfits  them  for  the  govern 
ment.  Is  it  not  right,  however,  that  the  ex 
periment  should  be  fairly  tried?  I  have  al 
ready  said,  that  this  has  not  been  done.  For 
myself,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  declare  my  firm 
belief  that  it  will  succeed.  The  people  of  Co 
lombia  possess  many  traits  of  character  suita 
ble  for  a  republican  government.  A  more 
orderly,  forbearing,  and  well-disposed  people 
are  nowhere  to  be  met  with.  Indeed,  it  may 
safely  be  asserted,  that  their  faults  and  vices 
are  attributable  to  the  cursed  government  to 
which  they  have  been  so  long  subjected,  and 
to  the  intolerant  character  of  the  religion, 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  193 

whilst  their  virtues  are  all  their  own.  But, 
admitting  their  present  want  of  intelligence, 
no  one  has  ever  doubted  their  capacity  to  ac 
quire  knowledge,  and  under  the  strong  motives 
which  exist,  to  obtain  it :  supported  by  the  in 
fluence  of  your  excellency,  it  would  soon  be 
obtained. 

To  yourself  the  advantage  would  be  as 
great  as  to  the  country ;  like  acts  of  mercy, 
the  blessings  would  be  reciprocal ;  your  per 
sonal  happiness  secured,  and  your  fame  ele 
vated  to  a  height  which  would  leave  but  a 
single  competitor  in  the  estimation  of  pos 
terity.  In  bestowing  the  palm  of  merit  the 
world  has  become  wiser  than  formerly.  The 
successful  warrior  is  no  longer  regarded  as 
entitled  to  the  first  place  in  the  temple  of  fame. 
Talents  of  this  kind  have  become  too  common, 
and  too  often  used  for  mischievous  purposes, 
to  be  regarded  as  they  once  were.  In  this 
enlightened  age,  the  mere  hero  of  the  field, 
and  the  successful  leader  of  armies,  may  for 
the  moment  attract  attention.  But  it  will  be 
such  as  is  bestowed  upon  the  passing  meteor, 
whose  blaze  is  no  longer  remembered,  when 
it  is  no  longer  seen.  To  be  esteemed  emi 
nently  great,  it  is  necessary  to  be  eminently 


194  LIFE  OF 

good.  The  qualities  of  the  hero  and  the 
general  must  be  devoted  to  the  advantage  of 
mankind,  before  he  will  be  permitted  to  as 
sume  the  title  of  their  benefactor ;  and  the 
station  which  he  will  hold  in  their  regard  and 
affections  will  depend,  not  upon  the  number 
and  the  splendour  of  his  victories,  but  upon 
the  results  and  the  use  he  may  make  of  the 
influence  he  acquires  from  them. 

If  the  fame  of  our  Washington  depended 
upon  his  military  achievements,  would  the 
common  consent  of  the  world  allow  him  the 
pre-eminence  he  possesses  ?  The  victories  at 
Trenton,  Monmouth  and  York,  brilliant  as 
they  were,  exhibiting,  as  they  certainly  did, 
the  highest  grade  of  military  talents,  are 
scarcely  thought  of.  The  source  of  the  vene 
ration  and  esteem  which  are  entertained  for  his 
character,  by  every  description  of  politicians 
—  the  monarchist  and  aristocrat,  as  well  as 
the  republican,  is  to  be  found  in  his  undevi- 
ating  and  exclusive  devotedness  to  the  interest 
of  his  country.  No  selfish  consideration  was 
ever  suffered  to  intrude  itself  into  his  mind. 
For  his  country  he  conquered;  and  the  un 
rivalled  and  increasing  prosperity  of  that 
country  is  constantly  adding  fresh  glory  to  his 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  195 

name.  General,  the  course  which  he  pursued 
is  open  to  you,  and  it  depends  upon  yourself 
to  attain  the  eminence  which  he  has  reached 
before  you. 

To  the  eyes  of  military  men,  the  laurels  you 
won  on  the  fields  of  Vargas,  Bayaca  and  Ca- 
rebobo  will  be  for  ever  green ;  but  will  that 
content  you  ?  Are  you  willing  that  your  name 
should  descend  to  posterity,  amongst  the  mass 
of  those  whose  fame  has  been  derived  from 
shedding  human  blood,  without  a  single  ad 
vantage  to  the  human  race  ?  Or  shall  it  be 
united  to  that  of  Washington,  as  the  founder 
and  the  father  of  a  great  and  happy  people  ? 
The  choice  is  before  you.  The  friends  of 
liberty  throughout  the  world,  and  the  people 
of  the  United  States  in  particular,  are  waiting 
your  decision  with  intense  anxiety.  Alexan 
der  toiled  and  conquered  to  attain  the  applause 
of  the  Athenians ;  will  you  regard  as  nothing 
the  opinions  of  a  nation  which  has  evinced  its 
superiority  over  that  celebrated  people,  in  the 
science  most  useful  to  man,  by  having  carried 
into  actual  practice  a  system  of  government 
of  which  the  wisest  Athenians  had  but  a 
glimpse  in  theory,  and  considered  as  a  blessing 
never  to  be  realized,  however  ardently  to  be 
17 


19G  LIFE  OF 

desired  ?  The  place  which  you  are  to  occupy 
in  their  esteem  depends  upon  yourself.  Fare 
well. 

W.  H.  HARRISON. 

General  Harrison  remained  in  Colombia  but 
a  short  time — as  General  Jackson,  on  coming 
into  power,  availed  himself  of  the  earliest  op 
portunity  to  evince  the  resentment  which  the 
remembrance  of  Harrison's  speech  on  the 
Seminole  war  had  left  still  rankling  in  his  bo 
som,  by  recalling  him  from  this  mission  almost 
immediately  after  he  had  taken  possession  of 
the  Presidential  chair. 

Since  the  return  of  General  Harrison  from 
Colombia,  he  has  lived  in  comparative  retire 
ment,  upon  his  farm  at  North  Bend,  on  the 
Ohio,  about  fifteen  miles  below  Cincinnati. 
With  the  most  enticing  opportunities  of  accu 
mulating  wealth,  during  his  long  government 
of  Indiana,  and  superintendency  of  Indian  af 
fairs,  he  acquired  none ;  his  honest  and  scru 
pulous  integrity  were  proof  against  the  golden 
temptations.  His  time  and  best  energies  were 
devoted  to  the  service  of  his  country,  and  his 
own  interests  were  ever,  with  him,  a  seconda 
ry  consideration.  He  even,  when  Governor 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  197 

of  Indiana,  greatly  diminished  the  usual  emolu 
ments  of  such  an  office,  by  refusing  to  accept 
any  of  those  fees,  whether  as  governor  or  su 
perintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  which,  before 
his  time,  had  been  customarily  paid.  For  his 
services  as  commander  of  the  expedition  to 
Tippecanoe,  he  never  asked  nor  received  any 
compensation.  And  subsequently,  when  in 
command  of  our  North-western  army,  though 
he  lived  as  frugally  and  fared  as  hardly  as  any 
of  his  fellow-citizens  in  the  ranks,  yet,  at  his 
own  expense,  he  purchased  clothing  and  ne 
cessary  comforts  for  his  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers,  until  he  not  only  exhausted  his  pay  as 
commander-in-chief,  but  seriously  encroached 
too  on  his  own  private  means.  He  therefore 
retired  without  the  spoils  of  office,  and  with 
only  a  competency  barely  sufficient  for  his 
support ;  but  rich  in  what  he  esteemed  of  far 
greater  value — in  a  reputation  undimmed  by 
a  single  tarnish,  and  in  the  honour  and  respect 
of  all  his  fellow-citizens. 

We  cannot  refrain  here  from  alluding  to  a 
circumstance  which  evinces  the  peculiar  deli 
cacy  and  honour  which  have  always  swayed 
General  Harrison  in  his  pecuniary  transac 
tions.  A  few  years  ago,  it  wras  ascertained 


198  LIFE  OF 

that  a  large  tract  of  land  near  Cincinnati 
which  had  been  sold  some  time  before  for  a 
mere  trifle,  under  an  execution  against  the  ori 
ginal  proprietor,  could  not  be  held  by  the 
titles  derived  from  the  purchasers,  on  account 
of  some  irregularity  in  the  proceedings.  The 
legal  title  was  in  General  Harrison  and  an 
other  gentleman,  who  were  the  heirs  at  law. 
This  tract  of  land  was  exceedingly  valuable 
and  would  have  constituted  a  princely  estate 
for  both  these  heirs,  had  they  chosen  to  insist 
on  their  legal  rights — or  they  might  have  made 
some  amicable  arrangement  with  the  purcha 
sers,  to  which  they  would  gladly  have  assent 
ed,  and  have  retained  at  least  one  half  of  this 
property,  by  giving  up  the  remainder.  But 
General  Harrison  had  never  yet  suffered  his 
interest  to  blind  his  true  sense  of  justice  and 
high-minded  honour,  nor  did  he  in  this  instance. 
On  being  informed  of  the  situation  of  this  pro 
perty,  he  obtained  the  assent  of  his  co-heir, 
and  immediately  executed  deeds  in  fee  simple 
to  the  purchasers,  without  claiming  any  con 
sideration  except  the  trifling  difference  be 
tween  the  actual  value  of  the  land  when  sold 
and  the  amount  paid  at  the  sheriff's  sale. 
There  were  in  this  tract,  too,  twelve  acres  of 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  199 

General  Harrison's  private  property  by  dona 
tion  from  his  father-in-law,  which  had  been 
improperly  included  in  the  sale,  and  which  he 
might  have  retained  both  legally  and  equitably 
— but  such  was  his  nice  sense  of  honour  and 
scrupulous  regard  for  the  rights  of  others,  that 
he  suffered  even  these  twelve  acres  to  be  in 
cluded  in  the  deed  given  to  the  purchasers. 
This  portion  of  the  land  thus  relinquished  by 
General  Harrison  is  now  worth  more  than 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  ! 

After  the  quotations  we  have  made  from  the 
writings  of  General  Harrison,  at  various  pe 
riods  of  his  life,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  that 
we  should  now  allude  to  his  talents  and  men 
tal  cultivation.  A  reference  to  those  quota 
tions  alone  will  abundantly  prove  the  high 
order  of  his  intellect,  and  the  unusual  extent 
of  his  literary  attainments.  He  writes  with 
great  ease  and  rapidity,  yet  with  singular 
clearness  and  beauty  of  composition.  His 
writings,  which,  from  the  many  high  stations 
he  has  occupied,  are  very  numerous,  carry  to 
every  impartial  reader  convincing  evidence  of 
a  strong  mind,  highly  cultivated  and  well  dis 
ciplined.  Among  the  later  productions  of  Ge 
neral  Harrison,  which  are  not  of  a  political 
17* 


200  LIFE  OF 

nature,  and  are  therefore  perhaps  less  known, 
are  "  An  Address  delivered  before  the  Hamil 
ton  County  Agricultural  Society,  at  their  an 
nual  exhibition,  held  on  the  15th  and  16th  of 
June,  1831  ;"  and  i;  A  Discourse  on  the  Abo 
rigines  of  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio,  with  some 
remarks  on  the  study  of  History,  prepared  at 
the  request  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Ohio." 
This  discourse  was  written  in  the  winter  of 
1837-8,  about  two  years  since  only.  To  these 
interesting  and  ably-written  productions  it 
would  be  impossible  to  do  justice  without  pre 
senting  them  to  our  readers  entire.  Still  we 
cannot  forbear  quoting  a  few  paragraphs  from 
each,  as  an  evidence  of  the  uncommon  beauty 
of  language,  and  the  manly  and  noble  senti 
ments  that  pervade  them  both.  In  the  address 
before  the  agricultural  society,  in  allusion  to 
the  place  at  which  the  exhibition  was  held, 
General  Harrison  says : — 

"  What  patriot,  what  American,  what  lover 
of  mankind,  can  view  the  scene  which  is  here 
presented,  and  not  enjoy  it?  Thirty-eight 
years  ago,  the  spot  on  which  we  are  now  as 
sembled  was  a  dreary  wilderness. — Not  a 
habitation  was  to  be  seen  save  a  solitary,  de- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  201 

serted  cabin,  which  only  added  to  the  gloom 
by  which  it  was  surrounded.  No  sound  of 
voices,  as  now,  was  heard  from  men  busied  in 
the  fulfilment  of  the  commands  of  the  Creator, 
to  cultivate  and  improve  the  earth.  The 
silence  was  unbroken,  save  by  the  shout  of  the 
Christian  warrior,  or  the  appalling  yell  of  the 
savage,  as  they  mingled  in  mortal  combat. 
To  this  scene  of  solitude,  of  desolation,  and 
of  blood,  what  wonders  have  now  succeeded ! 
More  than  the  efforts  of  unaided  man  could 
have  accomplished — the  hand  of  heaven  is  to 
be  distinctly  traced.  Yes !  it  is  to  thy  influence, 
fair  Liberty, 

"Daughter  of  Heaven!  who  with  indignant  eye, 
On  pomp  and  pageant  royalty  looks  down," 

that   we  ascribe   these  wonders,  only  to  be 
effected  under  institutions  which  leave  the  ac 
tions  of  man  unfettered,  and  his  mind  as  free 
as  the  air  he  breathes." 
****** 
"  The  encouragement  of  agriculture,  gen 
tlemen,  would  be  praiseworthy  in  any  country ; 
in  our  own  it  is  peculiarly  so.     Not  only  to 
multiply  the  means  and  enjoyments  of  life,  but 
as  giving  greater  stability  and  security  to  our 


202  LIFE  OF 

political  institutions.  In  all  ages  and  in  all 
countries  it  has  been  observed  that  the  culti 
vators  of  the  soil  are  those  who  are  least  will 
ing  to  part  with  their  rights,  and  submit  them 
selves  to  the  will  of  a  master."  *  * 

The  greater  part  of  this  address  is  of  a 
more  practical  nature — conveying  to  the  so 
ciety  before  whom  it  was  delivered,,  a  valuable 
fund  of  useful  information,  well  and  forcibly 
explained  by  appropriate  illustrations. . 

In  the  discourse  of  General  Harrison  on  the 
Aborigines  of  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio,  he  con 
tests  the  opinion  advanced  by  the  Hon.  Cad- 
wallader  Golden,  in  his  "  History  of  the  five 
Indian  Nations  of  Canada,"  and  which  is  like 
wise  asserted  by  Governor  Povvnal,  and  by 
many  others,  that  the  original  inhabitants  of 
that  valley  were  conquered  by  the  Iroquois. 
He  proves  that  this  alleged  subjugation  of  the 
northwestern  tribes  by  that  warlike  confede 
ration,  rests  on  no  competent  authority ;  and 
he  brings  forward  convincing  evidence  to  show 
that  the  favoured  region  through  which  the 
Ohio  flows,  as  well  as  the  contiguous  country,, 
has  been  for  many  centuries  as  it  now  is, 
"  The  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave.'" 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  203 

In  endeavouring  to  enforce  the  great  im 
portance  of  a  proper  study  of  history,  Gene 
ral  Harrison  says,  in  this  discourse : — 

"  It  is  in  youth,  and  in  early  youth,  that  the 
seeds  of  that  patriotism  must  be  sown,  which 
is  to  continue  to  bloom  through  life.  No  one 
ever  began  to  be  a  patriot  in  advanced  age. 
That  holy  fire  must  be  lighted  up  when  the 
rnind  is  best  suited  to  receive  with  enthusiasm, 
generous  and  disinterested  impressions.  If  it 
is  not  then  "  the  ruling  passion"  of  the  bosom, 
it  will  never  be  at  an  age  when  every  action 
is  the  result  of  cool  calculation,  and  the  basis 
of  that  calculation  too  often  the  interest  of  the 
individual.  This  has  been  the  prevailing  opi 
nion  with  every  free  people,  throughout  every 
stage  of  civilization,  from  the  roving  savage 
tribe  to  the  numerous  and  polished  nation ; 
from  the  barbarous  Pelasgi  to  the  glorious  era 
of  Miltiades  and  Cymon,  or  the  more  refined 
and  luxurious  age  of  Pericles  and  Xenophon. 
By  all,  the  same  means  were  adopted.  With 
all,  it  was  the  custom  to  present  to  their  youth 
the  examples  of  the  heroic  achievements  of 
their  ancestors,  to  inspire  them  with  the  same 
ardour  of  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  their 


204  LIFE  OF 

country.  As  it  regards  the  argument,  it  mat 
ters  not  whether  the  history  was  written  or 
unwritten;  whether  in  verse  or  in  prose;  or 
how  communicated ;  whether  by  national  an 
nals,  to  which  all  had  access;  by  recitation  in 
solemn  assemblies,  as  at  the  Olympic  and  other 
games  of  Greece ;  in  the  songs  of  bards,  as 
among  the  Celts  and  Scandinavians  ;  or  in  the 
speeches  of  the  aged  warriors,  as  was  prac 
tised  by  the  Wyandots,  Delawares,  Shawnees, 
and  other  tribes  of  our  own  country.  Much 
fiction  was  no  doubt  passed  off  on  these  occa 
sions,  as  real  history;  but  as  it  was  believed 
to  be  true,  that  was  sufficient  to  kindle  the 
spirit  of  emulation  in  the  cause  of  patriotism 
among  those  to  whom  these  recitations,  songs, 
and  speeches  were  addressed. 

In  the  remarks   I  have  made,  it  is  by  no 
means  my  intention  to  deny  the  good  effects 
which  have  been  derived  from  some  works  of 
fiction,  and  that  they  have  greatly  assisted 
"  To  raise  the  genius  and  to  mend  the  heart." 
But  this  result  is  better  effected  by  authentic 
history." 

Throughout    the    whole    of   this    discourse 
there  is  a  vein  of  deep  thought  and  calm  re- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  205 

flection,  aided  by  a  profound  research  and 
scholastic  knowledge  rarely  attained.  It 
abounds,  too,  in  that  ready  and  happy  elo 
quence  for  which  its  author  has  always  been 
peculiarly  noted.  Our  regret  that  we  cannot 
indulge  in  quotations  from  this  able  production 
more  at  length,  is  lessened  by  the  hope  that  it 
will  soon  be  presented  to  our  readers  in  a  bet 
ter  form,  together  with  other  wrritings  of  the 
same  distinguished  author. 

In  person,  General  Harrison  is  tall  and  slen 
der  ;  his  features  are  irregular,  but  bold  and 
strongly  marked  ;  his  eyes  are  dark,  keen,  and 
penetrating,  his  forehead  is  high  and  expan 
sive,  his  mouth  peculiarly  denotes  firmness 
and  genius,  and  the  expression  of  his  counte 
nance  is  highly  indicative  of  intelligence  and 
benevolence  of  character.  From  early  man 
hood  he  has  never  had  the  appearance  of  pos 
sessing  a  robust  constitution,  but  from  the  ac 
tivity  and  temperate  habits  of  his  past  life,  few 
men  at  his  age  enjoy  their  moral  and  physical 
energies  in  such  remarkable  vigour.  His  man 
ners  are  plain,  frank,  and  unassuming,  and  his 
disposition  is  cheerful,  kind,  and  generous,  al 
most  to  a  fault.  In  his  private  intercourse  he 


206  LIFE  OF 

is  beloved  and  esteemed  by  all  who  know  him. 
In  the  various  civil  and  military  offices  he  has 
held,  he  has  always  been  moderate  and  for 
bearing,  yet  firm  and  true  to  his  trust.  No 
other  commander  has  ever  been  more  popular 
with  our  militia ;  and  the  true  secret  of  this 
cannot  be  better  explained  than  by  his  own 
reply,  when  asked  how  he  had  gained  this  in 
fluence  :  "  By  treating  them,"  said  he,  "  with 
affection  and  kindness ;  by  always  recollect 
ing  that  they  were  my  fellow-citizens,  whose 
feelings  I  was  bound  to  respect ;  and  by  shar 
ing  with  them,  on  every  occasion,  the  hard 
ships  which  they  were  obliged  to  undergo. " 

His  suavity  of  manners,  his  generosity  and 
kindness  of  heart,  invariably  won  him  the  warm 
affections  of  those  who  were  placed  under  his 
authority;  while  his  moderation,  his  disinterest 
edness,  his  scrupulous  attention  to  the  public 
interests,  and  the  wisdom  with  which  he  exer 
cised  the  extensive  powers  entrusted  to  him, 
commanded  the  respect  and  confidence  of  his 
fellow-citizens. 

General  Harrison  is  likewise  strictly  and 
truly  a  pious  man.  Though  he  has  always 
been  noted  for  his  particular  attention  to  pub 
lic  worship  and  Christian  offices,  yet  religion 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  207 

with  him  has  not  been  a  Sabbath-day  garment 
only,  but  rather  an  e very-day  familiar  habit 
— not  a  mere  sense  of  incumbent  duty,  but  a 
warm  and  spontaneous  feeling,  kindled  into 
life  in  his  early  youth,  and  forming  the  hope 
and  firm  reliance  of  his  manhood  and  declin 
ing  years.  The  writer  of  this  biography  deems 
it  no  betrayal  of  confidence  to  say  that  he  has 
more  than  once,  on  entering  at  day-break  the 
chamber  of  General  Harrison,  found  him  on 
his  knees  at  his  bedside,  absorbed  in  his  devo 
tions  to  his  Maker,  when  he  could  not  have 
supposed  that  any  eye  save  that  of  his  God 
was  resting  on  him. 

An  incident,  which  occurred  in  Philadelphia 
on  the  visit  of  General  Harrison  to  that  city, 
in  1836,  will  serve,  in  some  measure,  to  illus 
trate  the  peculiar  depth  and  single-heartedness 
of  his  truly  Christian  and  devotional  feelings. 
On  the  evening  preceding  the  only  Sabbath 
he  then  spent  in  that  city,  he  was  visited  by 
two  of  his  warm  political  friends,  who  stated 
to  him,  that  as  there  were  in  Philadelphia  two 
religious  sects  which  comprised  a  much  larger 
number  of  followers  than  any  others,  they 
thought  it  would  be  good  policy  in  him  to  at 
tend  divine  service  at  a  church  of  one  of  these 
18 


208  LIFE  OF 

sects  in  the  morning,  and  at  a  church  of  the 
other  in  the  afternoon — and  that  they  had, 
therefore,  made  arrangements  to  that  effect. 
His  reply  was  singularly  characteristic.  "  Gen 
tlemen,"  said  he,  after  a  moment's  pause,  "  I 
thank  you  sincerely  for  your  kindness,  and  re 
gret  only  that  I  cannot  take  advantage  of  it — 
but  I  have  already  promised  to  attend  divine 
service  to-morrow,  and  when  I  go  to  Church  I 
go  to  worship  my  God  and  not  to  court  popu 
larity"  This  plain  and  simple  reply  came 
evidently  from  the  heart,  and  carried  a  per 
fect  conviction  of  its  truth  and  sincerity  to  the 
minds  of  all  who  heard  it. 

In  the  republican  institutions  of  our  country, 
birth  and  parentage  are  comparatively  of  very 
little  importance ;  and  no  candidate  for  public 
favour  can  found  thereon  the  slightest  claim 
to  the  respect  or  the  support  of  his  fellow-citi 
zens.  We  have  happily  shaken  off  the  thrall 
ing  prejudices  of  the  old  world,  and  a  title  to 
office  and  honourable  distinction  is  not  with 
us  hereditary ;  but  every  man  must  earn  his 
own  good  name,  and  his  claim  on  the  favour 
of  the  people,  by  his  own  good  deeds.  Yet, 
aware,  as  every  one  must  be,  of  the  powerful 
influence  of  early  education,  it  is  worthy  of 


WILLTAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  209 

remark,  as  well  as  gratifying  to  know,  that  a 
candidate  for  public  office,  in  whom  we  feel 
an  interest,  passed  all  the  early  years  of  his 
life  with  the  brightest  examples  of  virtue  con 
stantly  before  him  ;  and  under  the  parental  tui 
tion  of  one  of  those  illustrious  patriots,  whose 
memory  is  revered  by  every  true-hearted 
American.  It  is  pleasing  to  be  assured,  that 
his  first  political  sentiments  were  imbibed  in  a 
school  of  the  purest  republican  principles.  And 
when  we  trace  up  the  career  of  this  individual, 
from  the  spring-time  of  his  youth,  to  the  sum 
mer  of  his  manhood,  and  to  the  early  autumn 
of  his  years,  and  see  those  principles  closely 
adhered  to  throughout,  we  can  scarcely  resist 
the  conviction,  that  his  future  course  will  be 
consistent  with  the  past ;  and  that,  with  ma 
tured  abilities,  he  will  be  still  more  conspicu 
ous  for  his  republican  principles,  his  modera 
tion  in  office,  his  firm  integrity,  and  his  extend 
ed  and  enlightened  views  as  a  statesman.  Such 
were  the  early  advantages  of  William  Henry 
Harrison ;  such  has  been  his  course  thus  far 
through  life ;  and  such  is  now  the  bright  pro 
mise,  to  a  realization  of  which  we  may  safely 
look  forward,  should  the  people  see  fit  to  place 
him  in  office. 


210  LIFE  OF 

The  principles  that  would  govern  General 
Harrison,  should  he  be  elected  to  the  Presi 
dency,  may  be  known  by  the  following  ex 
tracts  from  a  letter  addressed  by  him  to  the 
Hon.  Harmar  Denny,  on  the  2d  of  December 
1838. 

"  Among  the  principles  proper  to  be  adopt 
ed  by  any  Executive  sincerely  desirous  to  re 
store  the  administration  to  its  original  simpli 
city  and  purity,  I  deem  the  following  to  be  of 
prominent  importance. 

"  I.  To  CONFINE  HIS  SERVICE  TO  A  SINGLE 
TERM. 

"  II.    To  DISCLAIM  ALL  RIGHT  OF  CONTROL  OVER 

THE  PUBLIC  TREASURE,  with  the  exception  of 
such  part  of  it  as  may  be  appropriated  by  law 
to  carry  on  the  public  services,  and  that  to  be 
applied  precisely  as  the  law  may  direct,  and 
drawn  from  the  treasury  agreeably  to  the  long- 
established  forms  of  that  department. 

"  III.  THAT  HE  SHOULD  NEVER  ATTEMPT  TO 
INFLUENCE  THE  ELECTIONS,  either  by  the  people 
or  the  state  legislatures,  nor  suffer  the  federal 
officers  under  his  control  to  take  any  other  part 
in  them  than  by  giving  their  own  votes  when 
they  possess  the  right  of  voting. 

"  IV.   That  in  the  exercise  of  the  veto  power  t 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  211 

he  should  limit  his  rejection  to:  1st.  Such  as 
are  in  his  opinion  unconstitutional  2d.  Such 
as  tend  to  encroach  on  the  rights  of  the  states 
or  individuals.  3d.  Such  as,  involving  deep 
interests,  may  in  his  opinion  require  more  ma 
ture  deliberation  or  reference  to  the  will  of  the 
people  to  be  ascertained  at  the  succeeding  elec 
tions. 

"  V.  That  he  should  never  suffer  the  influ 
ence  of  his  name  to  be  used  for  purposes  of  a 
purely  party  character. 

"  VI.  That  in  removal  from  office  of  those 
who  hold  their  appointments  during  the  plea 
sure  of  the  executive,  the  cause  of  such  removal 
should  be  stated  if  requested,  to  the  senate,  at 
the  time  the  nomination  of  a  successor  is  made. 

"  And  last,  but  not  least  in  importance, 

"  VII.  That  he  should  not  suffer  the  execu 
tive  department  of  the  government  to  become 
the  source  of  legislation ;  but  leave  the  whole 
business  of  making  laws  for  the  Union  to  the 
department  to  which  the.  constitution  has  exclu 
sively  assigned  it,  until  they  have  assumed  that 
perfected  shape,  where  and  when  alone  the 
opinions  of  the  executive  may  be  heard. 

"  A  community  of  power  in  the  preparation 
of  the  laws  between  the  legislature  and  the 
18* 


212  LIFE  OF 

Executive  Departments,  must  necessarily  lead 
to  dangerous  combinations,  greatly  to  the  ad 
vantage  of  a  President  desirous  of  extending 
his  power.  Such  a  construction  of  the  con 
stitution  could  never  have  been  contemplated 
by  those  who  framed  it,  as  they  well  knew 
that  those  who  propose  the  bills  will  always 
take  care  of  themselves,  or  the  interests  of 
their  constituents ;  and  hence  the  provision  in 
the  constitution,  borrowed  from  that  of  Eng 
land,  restricting  the  originating  of  revenue 
bills  to  the  immediate  representatives  of  the 
people.  So  far  from  agreeing  in  opinion  with 
the  distinguished  character  who  lately  retired 
from  the  presidency,  that  Congress  should 
have  applied  to  him  for  a  project  of  a  banking 
system,  I  think  that  such  an  application  would 
have  manifested  not  only  great  subserviency 
upon  the  part  of  that  body,  but  an  unpardon 
able  ignorance  of  the  chief  danger  to  be  ap 
prehended  from  such  an  institution.  That  dan 
ger  unquestionably  consists  in  a  union  of  inter- 
ests  between  the  executive  and  the  bank. 
Would  an  ambitious  incumbent  of  the  execu 
tive  chair  neglect  so  favourable  an  opportu 
nity  as  the  preparing  of  the  law  would  give 
him,  to  insert  in  it  provisions  to  secure  his  in- 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  213 

fluence  over  it  ?  In  the  authority  given  to  the 
President  by  the  constitution,  "  to  recommend 
to  Congress  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge 
necessary  and  expedient,"  it  was  certainly  ne 
ver  intended  that  the  measures  he  recommend 
ed  should  be  presented  in  a  shape  suited  for 
the  immediate  decision  of  the  legislature.  The 
sages  who  made  the  constitution  too  well  knew 
the  advantages  which  the  crown  of  England 
derives  from  the  exercise  of  this  power  by  its 
ministers,  to  have  intended  it  to  be  used  by 
our  Chief  Magistrate,  or  the  heads  of  depart 
ments  under  his  control.  The  boasted  princi 
ples  of  the  English  constitution,  that  the  con 
sent  of  the  democratic  branch  is  not  only  ne 
cessary  to  receive  money  from  the  people,  but 
that  it  is  its  inviolable  prerogative  also  to  ori 
ginate  all  the  bills  for  that  purpose,  is  true  in 
theory,  but  rendered  utterly  false  and  nugato 
ry  in  effect,  by  the  participation  of  the  minis 
ters  of  the  crown  in  the  details  of  legislation. 
Indeed  the  influence  they  derive  from  sitting 
as  members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
from  wielding  the  immense  patronage  of  the 
crown  (constitutional  or  usurped)  gives  them 
a  power  over  that  body,  that  renders  plausible, 
at  least,  the  flattery,  or  as  it  is  more  probable, 


214  LIFE  OF 

the  intended  sarcasm  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 
in  an  address  to  James  L,  that  the  demand  of 
the  sovereign  upon  the  Commons  for  pecuni 
ary  aid,  was  required  only  "  that  the  tax  might 
seem  to  come  from  themselves." 

******"  The  question  may,  perhaps, 
be  asked  of  me,  what  security  I  have  in  my 
power  to  offer,  if  the  majority  of  the  Ameri 
can  people  should  select  me  for  their  Chief 
Magistrate,  that  I  would  adopt  the  principles 
which  I  have  herein  laid  down,  as  those  upon 
which  my  administration  would  be  conduct 
ed.  I  could  only  answer  by  referring  to  my 
conduct,  and  the  disposition  manifested  in  the 
discharge  of  the  duties  of  several  important 
offices  which  have  heretofore  been  conferred 
upon  me.  If  the  power  placed  in  my  hands 
has,  even  on  a  single  occasion,  been  used  for 
any  purpose  other  than  that  for  which  it  was 
given,  or  retained  longer  than  was  necessary 
to  accomplish  the  objects  designated  by  those 
from  whom  the  trusts  were  received,  I  will 
acknowledge  that  either  will  constitute  a  suf 
ficient  reason  for  discrediting  any  promise  I 
may  make,  under  the  circumstances  in  which 
I  am  now  placed.  I  am,  dear  sir,  truly  yours, 
«  W.  H.  HARRISON. 

«  To  the  Hon.  HARMAR  DENNY." 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  215 

Our  confined  limits  restrain  us  from  making 
more  extensive  extracts  from  this  admirable 
letter  —  the  noble  and  truly  republican  senti 
ments  of  which,  together  with  its  plain  yet 
manly  and  vigorous  language,  forcibly  remind 
us  of  the  invaluable  writings  of  our  revered 
Washington. 

The  friends  of  General  Harrison  found  no 
especial  claim  on  his  military  services.  His 
own  sentiments  on  this  subject  we  have  al 
ready  quoted;  and  his  friends  would  scorn, 
as  much  as  he  would,  any  attempt  to  dazzle  a 
single  one  of  his  fellow-citizens  by  the  glory 
of  his  military  renown,  brilliant  though  it  be. 
They  would  point  rather  to  his  numerous  civil 
services,  in  the  forty  years  he  has  devoted  to 
his  country;  to  the  various  and  important 
offices  he  has  so  ably  filled — in  the  territorial 
governments,  in  the  legislature  of  his  own 
state,  and  in  the  house  of  representatives  and 
senate  of  the  United  States ;  and  to  the  high 
order  of  abilities  displayed  in  his  speeches  in 
congress,  in  his  public  acts,  and  in  his  volu 
minous  public  correspondence.  And  we  here 
take  occasion  to  say,  that  all  his  letters  and 
public  papers  have  been  exclusively  written 
by  himself;  and  that  so  far  from  his  having 


216  LIFE  OF 

called  in  the  mental  aid  of  another,  to  prepare 
his  messages  and  dispatches,  as  some  of  our 
distinguished  men  have  condescended  to  do, 
he  has  never  even  employed  an  amanuensis, 
to  perform  the  manual  labour  of  his  corre 
spondence.  His  ruling  principles  through  life, 
appear  to  have  been,  an  ardent  love  for  his 
country,  and  an  earnest  desire  to  serve  her 
best  interests ;  with  a  devotion  to  the  pure 
republican  maxims  of  the  revolution,  always 
unwavering  and  consistent ;  unlike  the  schem 
ing  politicians  of  a  more  modern  school,  whose 
own  interest  is  the  polar  star  that  guides  them, 
whatever  may  betide  their  country. 

The  services  of  General  Harrison  have 
always  been  rendered  to  his  country  and  not 
to  any  political  faction  :  nor  have  his  civil  or 
military  promotions  ever  been  obtained  by 
party  arrangements  or  underhand  manoeuvres; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  they  were  given  him  at 
the  earnest  wish  and  by  the  spontaneous  con 
fidence  of  his  fellow-citizens.  Neither  has  his 
present  nomination  for  the  presidency  been 
made  by  a  discontented  faction  or  political 
party,  but  by  the  voluntary  choice  of  a  great 
majority  of  the  people  uttered  by  their  chosen 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  217 

delegates.  And  happily,  the  more  his  claims 
to  the  high  office  for  which  he  has  been  nomi 
nated  are  canvassed,  the  more  acceptable  will 
he  become.  A  veteran  soldier  who  has  won 
for  his  country  every  battle  he  has  fought,  an 
experienced  statesman  whose  integrity  has 
been  thoroughly  tried  and  proved,  a  practical 
republican  of  the  good  old  school,  and  an 
honest  man  —  whose  attachment  to  the  true 
interests  of  the  people  is  unquestionable,  and 
who  will  rally  about  him  the  great  mass  of 
honest  and  intelligent  citizens,  and  with  their 
aid  and  support,  will  rescue  the  constitution, 
of  late  so  trampled  upon  by  party  violence 
and  executive  usurpation. 

With  tried  patriotism,  with  abilities  of  the 
highest  order,  with  integrity  pure  as  the  un 
sullied  snow,  and  with  the  truest  republican 
principles,  William  Henry  Harrison  is  now 
before  his  fellow-citizens,  as  a  candidate  for 
the  highest  office  in  their  gift.  In  the  long 
course  of  his  public  life,  he  has  always  openly 
avowed  and  proved  himself  a  staunch  advo 
cate  of  popular  rights,  and  is  therefore  truly 
THE  CANDIDATE  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 
He  comes  before  them,  not  with  a  crowd  of 


213      LIFE  OF  WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON. 

pampered  and  still-grasping  officials  to  intrigue 
and  bribe  for  him,  but  with  the  noble  frank-' 
ness  of  an  honourable  and  high-minded  man, 
willing  and  desirous  to  be  judged  impartially 
by  his  fellow-citizens,  and  ready  to  abide  by 
their  honest  decision. 


THE  END. 


. 


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